ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA 


ZENOBIA. 


ZENOBIA 

of 


A  TALE  OF  THE  ROMAN   EMPIRE  IN  THE  DAYS 
OF  THE  EMPEROR  AUREL1AN 


BY 

WILLIAM    WARE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "ROME  AND  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIANS,"  "JULIAN,"  ETC. 


Elfastrateti 


BOSTON 
DANA  ESTES   AND   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


HISTORf  I 


3antocrsitg  Press: 
IOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.  S.  A. 


"^? 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

THE    VOYAGE. 

PAGE 

DEPARTURE  FROM  ROME.  —  COMPANIONS  OP  THE  VOYAGE. 
—  ISAAC  THE  JEW.  —  THE  CHRISTIAN  PROBUS.  —  THE 
ROLL.  —  THE  JOURNEY.  —  THE  CITY  OF  THE  DESERT  .  .  1 


LETTER,   II. 
FAUSTA'S  HOME. 

A  PALMYRENE  HOME. —  THE  SLAVES.  —  GRACCHUS. —  FAUSTA. 

—  THE  PURPOSE  OF  Piso's  JOURNEY.  —  A  LOST  BROTHER. 

—  THE  DOUBTS  OF  GRACCHUS 21 


LETTER   III. 
ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE. 

MORNING  IN  THE  EAST.  —  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN.  —  THE 
PORTICO.  —  DEMETRIUS  THE  GOLDSMITH.  —  ZENOBIA.  — 
THE  JEWS'  QUARTER.  —  ISAAC  UNDERTAKES  TO  SEEK  FOR 
THE  LOST  CALPURNIUS  ...  40 


LETTER  IV, 

THE   SPORTS    OF    THE   AMPHITHEATRE. 

THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  —  COMBAT  BETWEEN  THE  ELEPHANT 
AND  THE  RHINOCEROS.  —  THE  INSULT  TO  AURELIAN. — 
THE  CRY  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  —  PRESENTATION  TO  THE 
QUEEN. — JULIA C3 

266919 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  V. 

AN  EVENING  WITH   ZENOBIA    AND   LONGINUS. 

PAGE 

MOONLIGHT  IN  THE  PALACE  GARDENS. — A  CONVERSATION. 

—  LONGINUS  DISCOURSES  OF   A  FUTURE  LIFE.  —  CHRIS 
TIANITY    AT    PALMYRA.  —  THE    ROYAL    CHILDREN.  —  A 
WHITE  ELEPHANT.  —  FAUSTULA 87 

LETTER  VI. 

THE   MOUNTAIN   PALACE. 

THE   MOUNTAIN   PALACE.  —  ZABDAS   THE    EGYPTIAN.  —  AN- 

TIOCHUS    THE    SYRIAN.  —  THROWING     THE     LANCE THE 

DEATH  OF   THE    SLAVE.  —  SLAVES   OF    ROME    AND  PAL 
MYRA.  —  THE  HUNT.  —  THE  TIGER.  —  THE  QUEEN  SAVED. 

—  A  HERALD  FROM  ROME.  — THE  EMBASSY 113 

LETTER  VIL 
THE  HERMIT. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    HERMIT.  —  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    THE    GOS 
PEL. —  THE  STORY  OF  CYPRIAN.  —  THE  HERMIT'S  GIFT    ,     137 


LETTER  VHL 

TIDINGS    OF   CALPURNIUS. 

THE  RETURN  TO   THE   CITY.  —  THE  LETTER.  —  THE  JOUR 
NEY    THROUGH     THE     DESERT. — TflE    MOTHER    AND    HER 

CHILD.  —  THE   SIMOOM.  —  THE   CITY  OF    SAPOR.  —  CAL- 
PURNIUS  FOUND.  —  His  DECISION.  —  ITS  CAUSE    ,  108 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

LETTER    IX. 

THE    CHRISTIANS    OF    PALMYRA. 

PAGE 

THE   ARAB.  —  MILO'S   ANGER.  —  THE    STREET   OF    PALMS. 

—  THE  PORTICO.  —  THE  PHILOSOPHER.  —  PROBUS  PREACH 
ING. —  PAUL  OF  ANTIOCH.  —  THE  CHRISTIANS  ASSEMBLED 
FOR  WORSHIP.  —  PROBUS 191 

LETTER  X. 

PALMYRA   AND    HOME. 

AN  EVENING  AT  THE  PALACE.  —  THE  ROMAN  QUESTION. — 
OTHO'S  COUNSELS.  —  ZABDAS.  —  QUEENLY  RASHNESS  .  .  214 

LETTER  XI. 

LOVE,    AND   A   CAPTIVE   FREED. 

LOVE.  —  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  STATE.  —  AN  ADVENTURE. 

—  THE    ENRAGED   ELEPHANT.  —  ZENOBIA    SAVED.  —  CAL- 
PURNIUS    RETURNED.  —  ISAAC'S    STORY   OF    MANES    THE 
PERSIAN 237 

LETTER  XII. 
THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR.  —  FAUSTA  ARMED.  —  ZENOBIA  AT 
THE  HEAD  OF  HER  TROOPS.  —  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE 
ARMY.  —  A  CHILD'S  PHILOSOPHY 263 

LETTER  XIII. 

THE  SHADOW  OF   THE  CLOUD. 

THE    LOST   BATTLE.  —  THE    FEMALE    SLAVE.  —  MISTRUST. 

—  A   SECOND    DEFEAT.  —  LIVIA.  —  THE   RETURN  OF   ZE 
NOBIA. —  THE  DEFEATED  SOLDIER.  —  FAUSTA  AND  GRAC 
CHUS  RETURN  .  285 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

LETTER   XIV. 

BETRAYED. 

PAGB 

THE  LAST  DAYS  OP  PALMYRA.  —  THE  SIEGE.  —  THE  EN 
GINES  FOR  DEFENCE.  —  THE  ROMANS  OFFER  TERMS.  — 
AURELIAN'S  LETTER.  —  THE  REPLY. —THE  SIEGE  PRESSED. 

—  THE     PERSIAN    SUCCOURS.  —  THE    SORTIE.  —  A    CON 
SPIRACY.— THE  QUEEN'S  PLAN.  —  JULIA'S  OFFER. —  THE 
BETRAYAL 309 

LETTER   XV. 

AURELIAN   AND    ZENOBIA. 

THE  CAPTURE.  —  AURELIAN.  —  SINDARINA'S  REMORSE.  — 
ANTIOCHUS.  —  THE  REWARD  OF  A  TRAITOR.  —  THE  RE 
VOLT  OF  THE  SOLDIERY.  —  AURELIAN  DEFENDS  THE 
QUEEN.  —  THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  —  THE  ESCAPE  OF 
CALPURNIUS.  —  Piso  HAS  AN  INTERVIEW  WITH  AURELIAN. 

—  VAIN  INTERCESSION 354 

LETTER   XVI. 

THE   DEATH    OF    LONGINUS. 

THE  CAPTIVES.  —  LONGINUS.  —  THE  LAST    MOMENTS  OF  A 

PHILOSOPHER.  —  DEATH.  —  PARDON.  —  SORROW  ....    380 

LETTER  XVII. 

THE  FALL  OF   PALMYRA. 

THE  AMNESTY.  —  ANTIOCHUS  PLOTS.  —  MARRIAGE  OP 
FAUSTA.  —  THE  MASSACRE  OF  THE  ROMANS.  —  ANTI 
OCHUS  PROCLAIMED  KING.  —  GRACCHUS  LEAVES  THE 
CITY.  —  RETURN  OF  AURELIAN.  —  ROMAN  VENGEANCE.  .  401 

LETTER    XVIII. 

A    ROMAN    TRIUMPH. 

PORTIA.  —  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  AURELIAN.  —  THE  CAPTIVE 
QUEEN.  —  ZENOBIA'S  HOME  AT  TIBUR.  —  HAPPY  LOVE. — 
LIVIA  AN  EMPRESS.  —  CONCLUSION 422 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 
ZENOBIA  (PORTRAIT  IN  RELIEF) Frontispiece 

CIRCULAR  TEMPLE,  BAALBEK 21 

TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN,  SIDE  VIEW 41 

COLONNADE  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN 48 

COURTYARD  OF  A  PALACE 87 

MONOLITH  COLUMN  OF  THE  GRAND  COLONNADE 113 

COLUMN  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN 137 

SYRIAN  CARAVAN 166 

VIEW  IN  SYRIA 174 

PALM  GROVE 193 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  TEMPLE 201 

AVENUE  OF  THE  GRAND  COLONNADE 214 

GRAND  COLONNADE,  1500  METRES  LONG 237 

TRIUMPHAL  ARCH,  REAR  VIEW 26*2 

TRIUMPHAL  ARCH  AND  COLONNADE,  FRONT  VIEW 285 

TEMPLE  OF  DIOCLETIAN 309 

MAUSOLEUM  CONTAINING  SARCOPHAGI 353 

FACADE,  LEFT  SIDE,  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN 370 

TRIUMPHAL  ARCH 401 

FRAGMENTS  OF  SCULPTURE  FOUND  AT  PALMYRA 421 


Z  E  N  O  B  I  A. 


LETTERS  FROM  LUCIUS  MANLIUS  PISO  AT  PALMYRA 
TO  MARCUS  CURTIUS  AT  ROME. 


LETTER  I. 

THE  VOYAGE. 

DEPARTURE  FROM  ROME.  —  COMPANIONS  OF  THE  VOYAGE.  —  ISAAC 
THE  JEW.  —  CHRISTIAN  PROBUS.  —  THE  ROLL.  —  THE  JOURNEY. 
—  THE  CITY  OF  THE  DESERT. 

IT  is  with  difficulty  that  I  persuade  myself  that  it  is  I 
who  am  sitting  and  writing  to  you  from  this  great  city 
of  the  East.  Whether  I  look  upon  the  face  of  Nature  or 
the  works  of  man,  I  see  everything  different  from  what  the 
West  presents ;  so  widely  different,  that  it  seems  to  me,  at 
times,  as  if  I  were  subject  to  the  power  of  a  dream.  But 
I  rouse  myself,  and  find  that  I  am  awake,  and  that  it  is 
really  I,  your  old  friend  and  neighbour,  Piso,  late  a  dweller 
upon  the  Coelian  hill,  who  am  now  basking  in  the  warm 
skies  of  Palmyra,  and,  notwithstanding  all  the  splendour 
and  luxury  by  which  I  am  surrounded,  longing  to  be  once 
more  in  Rome  by  the  side  of  my  Curtius,  and  with  him 
discoursing,  as  we  have  been  wont  to  do,  of  the  acts  and 
policy  of  the  magnificent  Aurelian. 

But  to  the  purpose  of  this  letter,  which  is,  in  agreement 
with  my  promise,  to  tell  you  of  my  fortunes  since  I  parted 
from  you,  and  of  my  good  or  ill  success,  as  it  may  be,  in 
the  prosecution  of  that  affair  which  has  driven  me  so  far 
from  my  beloved  Rome.  O  Humanity!  why  art  thou  so 

1 


2  2ENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

afflicted  ?  Why  have  the  immortal  gods  made  the  cup  of 
life  so  bitter  ?  And  why  am  I  singled  out  to  partake  of  one 
that  seems  all  bitter  ?  My  feelings  sometimes  overmaster 
my  philosophy.  You  can  forgive  this,  who  know  my  sor 
rows.  Still  I  am  delaying  to  inform  you  concerning  my 
journey  and  my  arrival.  Now  I  will  begin. 

As  soon  as  I  had  lost  sight  of  you  weeping  on  the  quay, 
holding  in  your  hand  the  little  Gallus,  and  the  dear  Lucilia 
leaning  on  your  arm,  and  could  no  longer,  even  by  mount 
ing  upon  the  highest  part  of  the  vessel,  discern  the  waving 
of  your  hands,  nor  cause  you  to  see  the  fervour  with  which 
I  returned  the  sign  of  friendship,  I  at  once  left  off  thinking 
of  you,  as  far  as  I  could,  and,  to  divert  my  thoughts,  began 
to  examine,  as  if  I  had  never  seen  them  before,  the  banks 
of  the  yellow  Tiber.  At  first  the  crowds  of  shipping,  of 
every  form,  and  from  every  part  of  the  world,  distracted  the 
sight,  and  compelled  me  to  observe  what  was  immediately 
around  me.  The  cries  of  the  sailors,  as  they  were  engaged  in 
managing  different  parts  of  their  vessels,  or  as  they  called 
out  in  violent  and  abusive  terms  to  those  who  passed  them, 
or  as  their  several  galleys  struck  against  each  other  in  their 
attempts  to  go  up  or  down  the  river,  together  with  the  fre 
quent  roarings  and  bellowings  of  whole  cargoes  of  wild  beasts 
from  the  deserts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  destined  to  the  amphi 
theatre,  intermingled  with  the  jargon  of  a  hundred  different 
barbarian  languages,  from  the  thousands  who  thronged  the 
decks  of  this  fleet  of  all  nations,  —  these  sights  and  sounds 
at  first  wholly  absorbed  me,  and  for  a  moment  shut  all 
the  world  beside  —  even  you  —  out  of  my  mind.  It  was  a 
strange  yet  inspiring  scene,  and  gave  me  greater  thoughts 
than  ever  of  the  power  and  majesty  of  Eome.  Here  were 
men  and  ships  that  had  traversed  oceans  and  continents  to 
bring  the  offerings  of  their  toil,  and  lay  them  at  the  feet  of 
the  mistress  of  the  world.  And  over  all  this  bustle,  created 
by  the  busy  spirit  of  commerce,  a  splendour  and  gaiety  were 
thrown  by  numerous  triremes  and  boats  of  pleasure,  which, 
glittering  under  the  light  of  a  summer's  morning  sun,  were 
just  setting  out  upon  some  excursion  of  pleasure,  with 


THE  VOYAGE.  3 

streamers  floating  from  the  slender  masts,  music  swelling 
up  from  innumerable  performers,  and  shouts  of  merry  laugh 
ter  from  crowds  of  the  rich  and  noble  youths  of  the  city, 
who  reclined  upon  the  decks  beneath  canopies  of  the  richest 
dyes.  As  these  Cleopatra  barges  floated  along  with  their 
soft  burden,  torrents  of  vituperative  epithet  were  poured 
upon  them  by  the  rough  children  of  Neptune,  which  were 
received  with  an  easy  indifference,  or  returned  with  no  lack 
of  ability  in  that  sort  of  warfare,  according  to  the  temper 
or  breeding  of  the  parties. 

When  the  novelty  of  this  scene  was  worn  out,  for  though 
often  seen  it  is  ever  new,  and  we  had  fallen  a  few  miles 
below  the  city,  to  where  the  eye  first  meets  the  smiling 
face  of  the  country,  I  looked  eagerly  around,  first  upon  one, 
and  then  upon  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  in  search  of  the 
villas  of  our  fortunate  citizens,  waiting  impatiently  till  the 
well-known  turn  of  the  stream  should  bring  me  before 
yours,  where,  with  our  mutual  friends,  we  have  passed  so 
many  happy  days.  It  was  not  long  before  I  was  gratified. 
Our  vessel  gracefully  doubled  the  projecting  point,  black 
ened  with  that  thick  grove  of  pine,  and  your  hospitable 
dwelling  greeted  my  eyes, —  now,  alas!  again,  by  that  loved 
and  familiar  object,  made  to  overflow  with  tears.  I  was 
obliged,  by  one  manly  effort,  to  leap  clear  of  the  power  of 
all-subduing  love,  for  my  sensibilities  were  drawing  upon 
me  the  observation  of  my  fellow  passengers.  I  therefore 
withdrew  from  the  side  of  the  vessel  where  I  had  been 
standing,  and  moving  to  that  part  of  it  which  would  best 
protect  me  from  what,  but  now,  I  had  so  eagerly  sought, 
sat  down  and  occupied  myself  in  watching  the  movements 
and  the  figures  of  the  persons  whom  chance  had  thrown  into 
my  company,  and  with  whom  I  was  now,  for  several  weeks, 
to  be  shut  up  in  the  narrow  compass  of  our  merchant-barque. 
I  had  sat  but  a  little  while,  when  the  master  of  the  ship, 
passing  by  me,  stopped,  and  asked  if  it  was  I  who  was  to 
land  at  Utica  —  for  that  one,  or  more  than  one,  he  believed, 
had  spoken  for  a  passage  only  to  that  port. 

"  No,  truly, "  I  replied,  and  added :  "  Do  you,  then,  cross 


ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

over  to  Utica  ?  —  that  seems  to  me  far  from  a  direct  course 
for  those  bound  to  Syria.  " 

"  Better  round-about, "  rejoined  he,  in  his  rough  way, 
"  than  risk  Scylla  and  Chary bdis ;  and  so  would  you  judge, 
\v^re  the  bowels  of  my  good  ship  stored  with  your  wealth, 
as  they  are,  it  may  be,  with  that  of  some  of  your  friends. 
The  Eoman  merchant  likes  not  that  narrow  strait,  fatal  to 
so  many,  but  prefers  the  open  sea,  though  the  voyage  be 
longer.  But  with  this  wind  —  once  out  of  this  foul  Tiber 
—  and  we  shall  soon  see  the  white  shores  of  Africa.  Truly, 
what  a  medley  we  seem  to  have  on  board !  Jews,  Eomans, 
Syrians,  Greeks,  soldiers,  adventurers,  merchants,  pedlars, 
and,  if  I  miss  not,  Christians  too ;  and  you,  if  I  miss  not 
again,  the  only  patrician.  I  marvel  at  your  taking  ship 
with  so  spotted  a  company,  when  there  are  these  gay  pas 
senger-boats,  sacred  to  the  trim  persons  of  the  capital, 
admitting  even  not  so  much  as  a  case  of  jewels  beside. " 

"  Doubtless  it  would  have  been  better  on  some  accounts, " 
I  replied,  "  but  my  business  was  urgent,  and  I  could  not 
wait  for  the  sailing  of  the  packet-boats ;  and  besides,  I  am 
not  unwilling  to  adventure  where  I  shall  mix  with  a  greater 
variety  of  my  own  species,  and  gain  a  better  knowledge  of 
myself  by  the  study  of  others.  In  this  object  I  am  not 
iikely  to  be  disappointed,  for  you  furnish  me  with  diverse 
samples,  which  I  can  contemplate  at  my  leisure. " 

"  If  one  studied  so  as  to  know  well  the  properties  of  fishes 
or  animals,"  rejoined  he,  in  a  sneering  tone,"  it  would  be 
profitable,  for  fishes  can  be  eaten,  and  animals  can  be  used : 
but  man  !  I  know  little  that  he  is  good  for,  but  to  bury,  and 
so  fatten  the  soil.  Emperors,  as  being  highest,  should 
be  best ;  and  yet,  what  are  they  ?  Whether  tLoy  have  been 
fools  or  madmen,  the  Tiber  has  still  run  blood,  and  the 
air  been  poisoned  by  the  rotting  carcasses  of  their  victims. 
Claudius  was  a  good  man,  I  grant ;  but  the  gods,  I  believe, 
envied  us  our  felicity,  and  so  took  him. " 

"  I  trust, "  said  I,  "  that  the  present  auspices  will  not 
deceive  us,  and  that  the  happiness  begun  under  that  almost t 
divine  ruler  will  be  completed  under  him  whom  he  desig- 


THE  VOYAGE.  5 

nated  as  most  worthy  of  the  sceptre  of  the  world,  and  whose 
reign  —  certainly  we  may  say  it  —  has  commenced  so  pros 
perously.  I  think  better  of  man  than  you  do,  and  I  cannot 
but  believe  that  there  will  yet  rise  up  among  us  those  who 
shall  feel  what  power,  almost  of  a  god,  is  lodged  in  the 
will  of  a  Koman  emperor,  and  will  use  it  like  a  god  to 
bless,  not  curse  mankind.  Why  may  not  Nature  repeat  the 
virtuous  Antonines  ?  Her  power  is  not  spent.  For  myself, 
I  have  faith  that  Aurelian  will  restore  not  so  much  the 
greatness,  as  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  empire. " 

"  So  have  not  I, "  cried  the  master  of  the  ship :  "  Is  he  not 
sprung  from  the  loins  of  a  peasant?  Has  not  the  camp 
been  his  home  ?  Was  not  a  shield  his  cradle  ?  Such  power 
as  his  will  craze  him.  Born  to  it,  and  the  chance  were 
better.  Mark  a  sailor's  word :  he  will  sooner  play  the  part 
of  Maximin,  than  that  of  Antonine  or  Severus,  or  of  our 
late  good  Claudius.  When  he  feels  easy  in  the  saddle,  we 
shall  see  what  he  will  do.  So  far,  the  blood  of  barbarians, 
slain  in  battle,  has  satisfied  him :  when  once  in  Rome,  that 
of  citizens  will  be  sweeter.  But  may  the  gods  befriend  us !  " 

At  this  point  of  our  discourse  we  were  interrupted  by  loud 
vociferations  from  the  forward  part  of  the  vessel,  where  I 
had  long  observed  a  crowd  of  the  passengers,  who  seemed 
engaged  in  some  earnest  conversation.  The  tones  now  be 
came  sharp  and  angry,  and  the  group  suddenly  dispersed, 
separating  this  way  and  that,  as  the  hoarse  and  command 
ing  voice  of  the  master  of  the  ship  reached  them,  calling 
upon  them  to  observe  the  rules  of  the  vessel,  which  allowed 
of  no  riot  or  quarrelling.  Toward  me  there  moved  one 
whom  I  hardly  know  how  to  describe,  and  yet  feel  that  I 
must.  You  will  here  doubtless  exclaim,  "  Why  obliged  to 
describe  ?  Why  say  so  much  of  accidental  companions  ?  " 
But  you  will  answer  yourself,  I  feel  persuaded,  my  Curtius, 
by  supposing  that  I  should  not  particularly  notice  a  mere 
companion  of  the  voyage,  unless  he  had  connected  himself 
in  some  manner  with  my  fortunes.  Such  has  been  the  case 
with  this  person,  and  one  other  whom  I  will  shortly  intro 
duce.  As  I  was  saying,  then,  when  that  group  dispersed, 


6  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

one  of  its  number  moved  toward  me,  and  seated  himself 
near  me.  He  was  evidently  a  Eoman  and  a  citizen.  His 
features  were  of  no  other  nation.  But  with  all  the  dignity 
that  characterized  him  as  a  Roman  there  were  mixed  a 
sweetness  and  a  mildness  such  as  I  never  remembered  to 
have  seen  in  another.  And  in  the  eye  there  was  a  melan 
choly  and  a  deepness,  if  I  may  say  so,  more  remarkable 
still.  It  was  the  eye  of  one  who  was  all  sorrow,  all  love, 
and  all  purity;  in  whom  the  soul  had  undisputed  sway 
over  the  passions  and  the  senses.  I  have  seen  an  expres 
sion  which  has  approached  it,  in  some  of  our  priests,  but 
far  below  it  in  power  and  beauty.  My  first  impulse  was  to 
address  him;  but  his  pallid  and  thoughtful  countenance, 
together  with  that  eye,  restrained  me,  and  I  know  not  how 
I  should  have  overcome  this  strange  diffidence,  had  not  the 
difficulty  been  removed  by  the  intervention  of  a  third  party. 
This  was  no  other  than  one  of  those  travelling  Jews  who 
infest  all  cities,  towns,  and  regions,  and  dwell  among  all 
people,  yet  mixing  with  none.  He  was  bent  almost  double 
by  the  weight  of  large  packages  of  goods,  of  all  descrip 
tions,  which  he  carried,  part  before  and  part  behind  him, 
and  which  he  had  not  yet  laid  aside,  in  the  hope,  I  sup 
pose,  of  effecting  some  sales  among  the  passengers. 

"  Here  's  old  Isaac  the  Jew, "  cried  he,  as  he  approached 
toward  where  I  sat,  and  then  stood  before  me,  resting  his 
pannier  of  articles  upon  a  pile  of  merchandise  which  lay 
there  — "  here  's  old  Isaac  the  Jew,  last  from  Rome,  but  a 
citizen  of  the  world,  now  on  his  way  to  Carthage  and  Syria, 
with  all  sorts  of  jewelry  and  ornaments :  nothing  that  a 
lady  wants  that 's  not  here  —  or  gentleman  either.  Most 
noble  sir,  let  me  press  upon  you  this  steel  mirror,  of  the 
most  perfect  polish :  see  the  setting,  too ;  could  the  setting 
be  better  ?  No  ?  You  would  prefer  a  ring :  look  at  this 
assortment, —  iron  and  gold  rings,  marriage,  seal,  and 
fancy  rings,  buckles  too :  have  you  seen  finer  ?  Here, 
too,  are  soaps,  perfumes,  and  salves  for  the  toilet,  hair 
pins  and  essences.  Perhaps  you  would  prefer  somewhat  a 
little  more  useful.  I  shall  show  you,  then,  these  sandals 


THE  VOYAGE.  7 

and  slippers ;  see  what  a  charming  variety  —  both  in  form 
and  colour.  Pretty  feet  alone  should  press  these  —  think 
you  not  so  ?  But,  alas  !  I  cannot  tempt  you.  " 

"  How  is  it  possible, "  said  I,  "  for  another  to  speak  when 
thy  tongue  wags  so  fast  ?  Those  rings  I  would  gladly  have 
examined,  and  now  that  thou  hast  discharged  that  volley 
of  hoarse  sounds,  I  pray  thee  open  again  that  case.  I  thank 
thee  for  giving  me  an  occupation.  " 

"  Take  care, "  replied  the  voluble  Jew,  throwing  a  quick 
and  mischievous  glance  toward  the  Eoman  whom  I  have 
already  mentioned  —  "  take  care  how  my  friend  here  of  the 
new  faith  hears  thee  or  sees  thee,  an'  thou  wouldst  escape 
a  rebuke.  He  holds  my  beauties  here  and  my  calling  in 
high  contempt ;  and  as  for  occupation,  he  thinks  one  never 
need  be  idle  who  has  himself  to  converse  with. " 

"  What  you  have  last  uttered  is  true, "  replied  the  person 
whom  he  addressed  :  "  he  need  never  want  for  employment, 
who  possesses  the  power  of  thought.  But  as  to  thy  trade, 
I  object  not  to  that,  nor  to  what  thou  sellest :  only  to  being 
myself  a  buyer. " 

"  Ha !  thou  wilt  not  buy  ?  Trust  Isaac  for  that.  I  keep 
that  which  shall  suit  all,  and  enslave  all.  I  would  have 
made  thee  buy  of  me  before,  but  for  the  uproar  of  these 
soldiers. " 

While  uttering  these  words,  he  had  placed  the  case  of 
rings  in  my  hands  to  examine  them,  and  was  engaged  him 
self  in  exploring  the  depths  of  a  large  package,  from  which 
he  at  length  triumphantly  drew  forth  a  parchment  roll. 

"  Now  open  all  thine  eyes,  Nazarene, "  cried  the  Jew, 
"  and  thou  shalt  see  what  thou  shalt  Look !  " 

And  so  saying,  he  unfolded  the  first  page  of  the  book, 
upon  which  the  eye  of  the  Roman  had  no  sooner  fallen, 
than  his  face  suddenly  glowed  as  if  a  god  shone  through 
him,  and  reverentially  seizing  the  book,  he  exclaimed : 

"  I  thank  thee,  Jew ;  thou  hast  conquered :  I  am  a  cus 
tomer  too.  Here  is  my  purse  —  take  what  thou  wilt.  " 

"  Hold,  hold !  "  interrupted  the  Jew,  laughing,  "  I  have 
not  done  with  thee  yet ;  what  thou  hast  bought  in  Greek, 


8  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

I  would  now  sell  thee  again  in  Latin.  Thy  half -convert, 
the  soldier  Macer,  would  greet  this  as  a  cordial  to  his  fam 
ishing  soul  Take  both,  and  thou  hast  them  cheaper.  " 

"  Your  cunning  hardly  deserves  such  a  reward, "  said  the 
Christian,  as  I  now  perceived  him  to  be ;  "  but  you  have 
said  well,  and  I  not  unwillingly  obey  your  suggestions. 
Pay  yourself  now  for  both,  and  give  them  to  me  carefully 
rolled  up. " 

"  No  better  sale  than  this  shall  I  make  to-day,  and  that 
too  to  a  Jew-hating  Nazarene.  But  what  matters  it  whom 
I  tax  for  the  upholding  of  Jerusalem  ?  Surely  it  is  sweeter 
when  the  cruel  Eoman  or  the  heretic  Christian  is  made 
unconsciously  to  build  at  her  walls. " 

Thus  muttered  the  Jew  to  himself,  as  he  skilfully  bound 
into  a  parcel  the  Christian's  books. 

"  And  now,  most  excellent  sir, "  said  he,  turning  toward 
me,  "  what  do  you  find  worthy  your  own  or  your  lady's 
finger?  Here  is  another  case  —  perhaps  these  may  strike 
you  as  rarer  for  their  devices  or  their  workmanship.  But 
they  are  rather  better  suited  to  the  tastes  of  the  rich  Paliny- 
renes,  to  whom  I  am  bearing  them. " 

"  Ah !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  these  are  what  I  want.  This  seal 
ring,  with  the  head  of  Zenobia,  for  which  I  sought  in  vain 
in  Eome,  I  will  buy,  nor  care  for  its  cost,  if  thou  canst 
assure  me  of  its  resemblance  to  the  great  queen.  Who  was 
tlie  artist !  " 

"  As  I  stand  here,  a  true  son  of  Abraham, "  he  replied, 
"  it  was  worked  by  a  Greek  jeweller,  who  lives  hard  by  the 
Temple  of  Fortune,  and  who  has  engraved  it  after  a  draw 
ing  made  by  a  brother,  an  inhabitant  of  Palmyra.  Two 
such  artists  in  their  way  are  not  to  be  found.  I  myself, 
moreover,  bore  the  original  drawing  from  Demetrius  to  his 
brother  in  Kome ;  and  that  it  is  like  the  great  queen,  I  can 
well  testify,  for  I  have  often  seen  her.  Her  marvellous 
beauty  is  here  well  expressed,  or  as  well  as  that  which  par 
takes  so  much  more  of  heaven  than  of  earth,  can  be.  But 
look  at  these  coo!  Here  I  have  what  I  look  to  do  well 
with.  See !  Heads  of  Odenatus !  Think  you  not  they  will 


THE  VOYAGE.  9 

take  well  ?  These  also  are  done  with  the  same  care  as  the 
others,  and  by  the  same  workmen.  Nothing  of  the  kind  has 
as  yet  been  seen  in  Palmyra,  nor  indeed  in  Rome.  Happy 
Isaac !  —  thy  fortune  is  made ?  Come,  put  them  on  thy 
finger,  and  observe  their  beauty.  King  and  queen  —  how 
lovingly  they  sit  there  together!  'Twas  just  so  when 
Odenatus  was  alive.  They  were  a  noble  and  a  loving 
pair.  The  queen  yet  weeps  for  him. " 

"  Jew, "  said  I,  "  on  thy  word  I  purchase  these.  Al 
though  thy  name  is  in  no  good  repute,  yet  thy  face  is 
honest,  and  I  will  trust  thee  so  far.  " 

"  The  name  of  the  unfortunate  and  the  weak  is  never  in 
repute, "  said  Isaac,  as  he  took  my  money  and  folded  up  the 
rings,  his  whole  manner  suddenly  changing.  "  The  Jew  is 
now  but  a  worm,  writhing  under  the  heel  of  the  proud 
Roman.  Many  a  time  has  he,  however,  as  thou  well  know- 
est,  turned  upon  his  destroyer,  and  tasted  the  sweetness  of 
a  brief  revenge.  Why  should  I  speak  of  the  massacres  of 
Egypt,  Gyrene,  and  Syria  in  the  days  of  Trajan  ?  Let  Rome 
beware !  Small  though  we  seem,  the  day  will  yet  arrive 
when  the  glory  of  Zion  shall  fill  the  whole  earth ;  and  HE 
shall  yet  arise,  before  whom  the  mighty  Emperor  of  Rome 
shall  tremble  in  his  palaces.  This  is  what  I  say.  Thanks 
to  the  great  Aurelian,  that  even  a  poor  son  of  Abraham  may 
speak  his  mind  and  not  lose  his  head.  Here  's  old  Isaac : 
who  '11  buy  of  old  Isaac  —  rings,  pins,  and  razors, —  who  '11 
buy?" 

And  so  singing,  he  turned  away,  and  mixed  with  the 
passengers  in  the  other  parts  of  the  vessel.  The  wild  glare 
of  his  eye,  and  deep,  suppressed  tone  of  his  voice,  as  he 
spoke  of  the  condition  and  hopes  of  his  tribe,  startled  and 
moved  me,  and  I  would  willingly  have  prolonged  a  conver 
sation  with  one  of  that  singular  people,  about  whom  I  really 
know  nothing,  and  with  none  of  whom  had  I  ever  before 
come  in  contact.  When  I  see  you  again,  I  shall  have 
much  to  tell  you  of  him ;  for  during  the  rest  of  the  voyage 
we  were  often  thrown  together,  and,  as  you  will  learn,  he 
has  become  of  essential  service  to  me  in  the  prosecution  of 
my  objects. 


10  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

No  sooner  had  Isaac  withdrawn  from  our  company,  than 
I  embraced  the  opportunity  to  address  myself  to  the  re 
markable-looking  person  whom  I  have  already  in  part 
described. 

"  It  is  a  great  testimony, "  I  said,  turning  toward  him, 
"  which  these  Jews  bear  to  their  national  religion.  I  much 
doubt  if  Komans,  under  similar  circumstances  of  oppres 
sion,  would  exhibit  a  constancy  like  theirs.  Their  attach 
ment,  too,  is  to  an  invisible  religion,  as  one  may  say,  which 
makes  it  the  more  remarkable.  They  have  neither  tem 
ples,  altars,  victims,  nor  statues,  nor  any  form  of  god  or 
goddess,  to  which  they  pay  real  or  feigned  adoration.  To 
ward  us  they  bear  deep  and  inextinguishable  hate,  for  our 
religion  not  less  than  for  our  oppressions.  I  never  see  a 
Jew  treading  our  streets  with  busy  steps,  and  his  dark 
piercing  eye,  but  I  seem  to  see  an  assassin,  who,  with 
Nero,  wishes  the  Eoman  people  had  but  one  neck,  that  he 
might  exterminate  the  whole  race  with  a  single  blow. 
Toward  you,  however,  who  are  so  nearly  of  his  own  faith, 
I  suppose  his  sentiments  are  more  kindly.  The  Christian 
Roman,  perhaps,  he  would  spare.  " 

"  Not  so,  I  greatly  fear, "  replied  the  Christian.  "  Nay, 
the  Jew  bears  a  deeper  hatred  toward  us  than  toward  you, 
and  would  sooner  sacrifice  us;  for  the  reason,  doubtless, 
that  we  are  nearer  him  in  faith  than  you ;  just  as  our  suc 
cessful  emperors  have  no  sooner  found  themselves  securely 
seated,  than  they  have  first  turned  upon  the  members  of 
their  own  family,  that  from  this,  the  most  dangerous  quar 
ter,  there  should  be  no  fear  of  rival  or  usurper.  The  Jew 
holds  the  Christian  —  though  in  some  sort  believing  with 
him  —  as  a  rival,  a  usurper,  a  rebel;  as  one  who  would 
substitute  a  novelty  for  the  ancient  creed  of  his  people,  and, 
in  a  word,  bring  ruin  upon  the  very  existence  of  his  tribe. 
His  suspicions,  truly,  are  not  without  foundation ;  but  they 
do  not  excuse  the  temper  with  which  he  regards  us.  I  cast 
no  imputation  upon  the  virtues  of  friend  Isaac  in  what  I 
say.  The  very  spirit  of  universal  love,  I  believe,  reigns  in 
his  soul  Would  that  all  of  his  race  were  like  him.' " 


THE  VOYAGE.  11 

"  What  you  say  is  new  and  strange, "  I  replied.  "  I  may 
possibly  bring  shame  upon  myself  by  saying  so ;  but  it  is 
true.  I  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  Christians  and 
Jews  as  in  eft'ect  one  people, —  one,  I  mean,  in  opinion  and 
feeling.  But  in  truth  I  know  nothing.  You  are  not  igno 
rant  of  the  prejudice  which  exists  toward  both  these  races, 
on  the  part  of  the  Eomans.  I  have  yielded,  with  multi 
tudes  around  me,  to  prevailing  ideas,  taking  no  steps  to 
learn  their  truth  or  error.  Our  writers,  from  Tacitus  to  the 
base  tools  —  for  such  they  must  have  been  —  who  lent  them 
selves  to  the  purposes  of  the  bigot  Macrianus,  and  who 
filled  the  city  with  their  accounts  of  the  Christians,  have 
all  agreed  in  representing  your  faith  as  a  dark  and  mis 
chievous  superstition.  I  have,  indeed,  been  struck  with 
the  circumstance,  that  while  the  Jews  make  no  converts 
from  among  us,  great  numbers  are  reported  to  have  joined 
the  Christians ;  and  of  those,  not  a  few  of  the  higher  orders. 
The  late  Emperor  Philip,  I  think  it  clear,  was  a  Christian. 
This  might  have  taught  me  that  there  is  a  wide  difference 
between  the  Christian  and  the  Jew.  But  the  general  hatred 
toward  both  the  one  and  the  other,  together  with  the  per 
secutions  to  which  they  have  been  exposed,  have  made  me 
more  than  indifferent  to  their  merits." 

"  I  trust  the  time  will  come, "  replied  the  Christian, 
"  when  our  cause  will  be  examined  on  the  ground  of  its 
merits.  Why  may  we  not  believe  that  it  is  now  come? 
The  Eoman  world  is  at  peace.  A  strong  and  generous 
prince  is  upon  the  throne.  Mild  and  just  laws  restrain 
the  furious  bigotry  of  an  ignorant  and  sanguinary  priest 
hood.  Men  of  intelligence  and  virtue  adorn  our  profession, 
from  whom  those  who  are  anxious  to  know  the  truth  can 
hear  it ;  and  copies  of  our  sacred  books,  both  in  Greek  and 
Latin,  abound,  whence  may  easily  be  learned  the  true  prin 
ciples  of  our  faith,  and  the  light  of  whose  holy  pages  would 
instantly  dispel  the  darkness  by  which  the  minds  of  many, 
even  of  the  virtuous  and  well-disposed,  are  oppressed.  It 
is  hardly  likely  that  a  fitter  opportunity  will  soon  offer  for 
ail  examination  ot  the  claims  of  Christianity.  We  have 


12  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

nothing  to  dread  but  the  deadness  and  indifference  of  the 
public  mind.  It  is  not  credible  that  polytheism  should 
stand  a  day  upon  any  fair  comparison  of  it  with  the  reli 
gion  of  Christ.  You  yourself  are  not  a  believer  (pardon  my 
boldness)  in  the  ineffable  stupidities  of  the  common  reli 
gion.  To  suppose  you  were  —  I  see  by  the  expression  of 
your  countenance  —  would  be  the  unpardonable  offence.  I 
sincerely  believe  that  nothing  more  is  wanting  to  change  you, 
and  every  intelligent  Eoman,  from  professed  supporters  of 
the  common  religion  (but  real  infidels),  into  warm  believers 
and  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  but  simply  this,  — 
to  read  his  sayings,  and  the  delineation  of  his  character,  as 
they  have  been  written  down  by  some  of  his  followers. 
You  are,  I  see,  incredulous,  but  not  more  so  than  I  was 
myself  only  a  year  ago ;  yet  you  behold  me  a  Christian.  I 
had  to  contend  against,  perhaps,  far  more  adverse  influ 
ences  than  would  oppose  you.  You  start  with  surprise 
that  I  should  give  evidence  that  I  know  you ;  but  I  have 
many  a  time  seen  you  at  the  shop  of  Publius,  and  have 
heard  you  in  your  addresses  to  the  people.  I  am  the  son 
of  a  priest  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  —  son  of  a  man,  who,  to 
a  mildness  and  gentleness  of  soul  that  would  do  honour  to 
the  Christian,  added  a  faith  in  the  religion  of  his  fathers, 
deep-struck  and  firm-rooted  as  the  rocks  of  ocean.  I 
was  his  assistant  in  the  duties  of  his  office.  My  childish 
faith  was  all  he  could  wish  it;  I  reverenced  a  religion 
which  had  nurtured  virtues  like  his.  In  process  of  time 
I  became  myself  a  father.  Four  children,  more  beautiful 
than  ever  visited  the  dreams  of  Phidias,  made  my  dwelling 
a  portion  of  Elysium,  as  I  then  thought.  Their  mother  — 
but  why  should  I  speak  of  her  ?  It  is  enough  to  say  she 
was  a  Koman  mother.  At  home  it  was  my  supreme  hap 
piness  to  sport  with  my  little  ones,  or  initiate  them  into 
the  elements  of  useful  knowledge.  And  often,  when  at  the 
temple  preparing  for  the  days  of  ceremony,  my  children 
were  with  me ;  and  my  labours  were  nothing,  cheered  by 
the  music  of  their  feet  running  upon  the  marble  pavements, 
and  of  their  merry  voices  echoing  among  the  columns  and 


THE  VOYAGE.  13 

arches  of  the  vast  interior.  0  days  thrice  happy !  They 
were  too  happy  to  last.  Within  the  space  of  one  year  — 
one  cruel  year  —  these  four  living  idols  were  ravished  from 
my  arms  by  a  prevailing  disease.  My  wife,  broken-hearted, 
soon  followed  them,  and  I  was  left  alone.  I  need  not  de 
scribe  my  grief ;  I  will  only  say  that  with  bitter  impreca 
tions  I  cursed  the  gods.  '  Who  are  ye, '  I  cried,  '  who  sit 
above  in  your  secure  seats,  and  make  your  sport  of  human 
woe  ?  Ye  are  less  than  men.  Man  though  I  am,  I  would 
not  inflict  upon  the  meanest  slave  the  misery  ye  have 
poured  upon  my  defenceless  head.  Where  are  your  mer 
cies  ? '  I  was  frantic.  How  long  this  lasted  I  cannot  tell, 
for  I  took  no  note  of  time.  I  was  awakened,  may  I  not  say 
saved,  by  a  kind  neighbour  whom  I  had  long  known  to  be 
a  Christian.  He  was  a  witness  of  my  sufferings,  and  with 
deep  compassion  ministered  to  my  necessities.  '  Probus, ' 
said  he,  '  I  know  your  sorrows  and  I  know  your  wants.  I 
have  perceived  that  neither  your  own  thoughts,  nor  all  the 
philosophy  of  your  venerable  father,  have  brought  you 
peace.  It  is  not  surprising ;  ye  are  but  men,  and  ye  have 
but  the  power  and  the  wisdom  of  men.  It  is  aid  from  the 
Divinity  that  you  want.  I  will  not  discourse  with  you ; 
but  I  leave  with  you  this  book,  which  I  simply  ask  you  to 
read. '  I  read  it,  and  read  it,  again  and  again ;  and  I  am 
a  Christian.  As  the  Christian  grew  up  within  me,  my 
pains  were  soothed;  and  days,  once  days  of  tears  and  un 
availing  complaints,  are  now  days  of  calm  and  cheerful 
duty.  I  am  a  new  man.  " 

I  cannot  describe  to  you,  my  Curtius,  the  effect  of  this 
little  narrative  upon  myself,  or  upon  those  who,  as  he  spoke, 
had  gathered  round,  especially  those  hard-featured  soldiers. 
Tears  flowed  down  their  weatherbeaten  faces,  and  one  of 
them  —  Macer,  as  I  afterwards  learned  —  cried  out,  "  Where 
now  are  the  gods  of  Kome  ?  "  Probus  started  from  his  seat, 
apparently  for  the  first  time  conscious  of  any  other  listener 
beside  myself,  and  joined  the  master  of  the  vessel  at  the 
helm.  I  resigned  myself  to  meditation;  and  that  night 
fell  asleep  thinking  of  the  Christian  and  his  book. 


14  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Five  days  brought  us  in  sight  of  the  African  coast,  but 
quite  to  the  west  of  Utica.  So,  coasting  along,  we  presently 
came  off  against  Hippo,  and  then  doubling  a  promontory, 
both  Utica  and  Carthage  were  at  once  visible, —  Utica 
nearer,  Carthage  just  discernible  in  the  distance.  All 
was  now  noise  and  bustle  as  we  rapidly  drew  near  the 
port.  Many  of  our  passengers  were  to  land  here ;  and  they 
were  busily  employed,  with  the  aid  of  the  sailors,  in  col 
lecting  their  merchandise  or  their  baggage.  The  soldiers 
destined  to  the  African  service  here  left  us,  together  with 
the  Jew  Isaac  and  the  Christian  Probus.  I  was  sorry  in 
deed  to  lose  them,  as  beside  them  there  was  not  one  on 
board,  except  the  governor  of  the  ship,  from  whose  com 
pany  or  conversation  I  could  derive  either  pleasure  or 
knowledge.  They  are  both  of  them,  however,  destined  to 
Palmyra,  as  well  as  myself ;  and  I  shall  soon  expect  them 
to  join  me  here.  You  smile  at  my  speaking  thus  of  a  trav 
elling  Jew  and  a  despised  Christian ;  but  in  the  issue  you 
will  acknowledge  your  as  well  as  my  obligations  to  them 
both.  I  confess  myself  attached  to  them.  As  the  Jew 
turned  to  bid  me  farewell,  before  he  sprang  on  shore,  he 
said :  — 

"  Most  noble  Piso,  if  thou  forsakest  the  gods  of  Home,  let 
it  be  for  the  synagogue  of  the  children  of  Abraham,  whose 
faith  is  not  of  yesterday.  Be  not  beguiled  by  the  specious 
tongue  of  that  heretic  Probus.  I  can  tell  thee  a  better 
story  than  his. " 

"  Fear  not,  honest  Isaac, "  I  cried ;  "  I  am  not  yet  so 
weary  of  the  faith  of  my  ancestors.  That  cannot  be  alto 
gether  despicable  which  has  had  power  to  bind  in  one  mass 
the  whole  Koman  people  for  so  many  ages.  I  shall  be  no 
easy  convert  to  either  you  or  Probus.  Farewell,  to  meet  in 
Tadmor.  "  Probus  now  passed  me,  and  said  :  "  If  I  should 
not  see  you  in  the  Eastern  capital,  according  to  my  purpose, 
I  trust  I  shall  in  Home.  My  dwelling  is  in  the  Livian 
Way,  not  far  from  the  Pantheon,  opposite  the  well-known 
house  of  Vitruvius,  still  so  called ;  or  at  the  shop  of  the 
learned  Publius  I  may  be  seen  every  morning,  and  may 


THE  VOYAGE.  15 

there  be  always  heard  of. "  I  assured  him  that  no  affairs 
could  be  so  pressing,  after  I  should  return  to  Rome,  as  not 
to  allow  me  to  seek  him,  but  that  I  hoped  the  fates  would 
not  interpose  to  deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  first  seeing 
him  in  Palmyra.  So  we  parted.  And  very  soon  after,  the 
merchandise  and  passengers  being  all  landed,  we  set  sail 
again,  and  stood  out  to  sea.  I  regretted  that  we  were  not 
to  touch  at  Carthage,  as  my  desire  had  always  been  strong 
to  see  that  famous  place.  An  adverse  wind,  however,  set 
ting  in  from  the  north,  drove  us  farther  toward  the  city 
than  the  pilot  intended  to  have  gone,  and  I  thus  obtained 
quite  a  satisfactory  glimpse  of  the  African  capital.  I  was 
surprised  at  the  indications  of  its  vastness  and  grandeur. 
Since  its  attempted  restoration  by  Augustus,  it  has  ad 
vanced  steadily  to  almost  its  former  populousness  and  mag 
nificence.  Nothing  could  be  more  imposing  and  beautiful 
than  its  long  lines  of  buildings,  its  towers,  walls,  palaces, 
and  columns,  seen  through  the  warm  and  rosy  mist  of  an 
African  sky.  I  could  hardly  believe  that  I  was  looking 
but  upon  a  provincial  city,  a  dependant  upon  almighty 
Rome.  It  soon  sank  below  the  horizon,  as  its  glory  had 
sunk  once  before. 

I  will  not  detain  you  long  with  our  voyage,  but  will  only 
mark  out  its  course.  Leaving  the  African  shore,  we  struck 
across  to  Sicily,  and,  coasting  along  its  eastern  border,  be 
held  with  pleasure  the  towering  form  of  ^Etna,  sending  up 
into  the  heavens  a  dull  and  sluggish  cloud  of  vapours.  We 
then  ran  between  the  Peloponnesus  and  Crete,  and  so  held 
our  course  till  the  island  of  Cyprus  rose  like  her  own  fair 
goddess  from  the  ocean,  and  filled  our  eyes  with  a  beautiful 
vision  of  hill  and  valley,  wooded  promontory,  and  glitter 
ing  towns  and  villas.  A  fair  wind  soon  withdrew  us  from 
these  charming  prospects,  and  after  driving  us  swiftly  and 
roughly  over  the  remainder  of  our  way,  rewarded  us  with  a 
brighter  and  more  welcome  vision  still,  —  the  coast  of  Syria, 
and  our  destined  port,  Berytus. 

As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  both  toward  the  north  and 
the  south,  we  beheld  a  luxuriant  region  crowded  with  vil- 


16  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

lages,  and  giving  every  indication  of  comfort  and  wealth. 
The  city  itself,  which  we  rapidly  approached,  was  of  in 
ferior  size,  but  presented  an  agreeable  prospect  of  ware 
houses,  public  and  private  edifices,  overtopped  here  and 
there  by  the  lofty  palm,  and  other  trees  of  a  new  and 
peculiar  foliage.  Four  days  were  consumed  here  in  the 
purchase  of  slaves,  camels,  and  horses,  and  in  other  prepa 
rations  for  the  journey  across  the  Desert.  Two  routes 
presented  themselves, —  one  more,  the  other  less,  direct;  the 
last,  though  more  circuitous,  appeared  to  me  the  more  de 
sirable,  as  it  would  take  me  within  sight  of  the  modern 
glories  and  ancient  remains  of  Heliopolis.  This,  therefore, 
was  determined  upon ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day 
we  set  forward  upon  our  long  march.  Four  slaves,  two 
camels,  and  three  horses,  with  an  Arab  conductor,  consti 
tuted  our  little  caravan ;  but  for  greater  safety  we  attached 
ourselves  to  a  much  larger  one  than  our  own,  in  which  we 
were  swallowed  up  and  lost,  consisting  of  travellers  and 
traders  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  who  were  also  on 
their  way  to  Palmyra,  as  a  point  whence  to  separate  to 
various  parts  of  the  vast  East.  It  would  delight  me  to  lay 
before  you,  with  the  distinctness  and  minuteness  of  a  pic 
ture,  the  whole  of  this  novel,  and  to  me,  most  interesting 
route ;  but  I  must  content  myself  with  a  slight  sketch,  and 
reserve  fuller  communications  to  the  time  when,  once  more 
seated  with  you  upon  the  Ccelian,  we  enjoy  the  freedom  of 
social  converse. 

Our  way  through  the  valleys  of  Libanus  was  like  one 
long  wandering  among  the  pleasure-grounds  of  opulent  citi 
zens  ;  the  land  was  everywhere  richly  cultivated,  and  a  hap 
pier  peasantry,  as  far  as  the  eye  of  the  traveller  could  judge, 
nowhere  exists.  The  most  luxuriant  valleys  of  our  own 
Italy  are  not  more  crowded  with  the  evidences  of  plenty 
and  contentment.  Upon  drawing  near  to  the  ancient  Baal- 
bee,  I  found,  on  inquiry  of  our  guide,  that  we  were  not  to 
pass  through  it,  as  I  had  hoped,  nor  even  very  near  it,  not 
nearer  than  between  two  and  three  miles.  So  that  in  this 
I  had  been  clearly  deceived  by  those  of  whom  I  had  made 


THE  VOYAGE.  17 

the  most  exact  inquiries  at  Berytus.  I  thought  I  discov 
ered  great  command  of  myself,  in  that  I  did  not  break  the 
head  of  my  Arab,  who,  doubtless  to  answer  purposes  of  his 
own,  had  brought  me  thus  out  of  my  way  for  nothing.  The 
event  proved,  however,  it  was  not  for  nothing;  for  soon 
after  we  had  started  on  our  journey,  on  the  morning  of  the 
second  day,  turning  suddenly  round  the  projecting  rock  of 
a  mountain  ridge,  we  all  at  once  beheld,  as  if  a  veil  had 
been  lifted  up,  Heliopolis  and  its  suburbs  spread  out  before 
us  in  all  their  various  beauty.  The  city  lay  about  three 
miles  distant.  I  could  only,  therefore,  identify  its  princi 
pal  structure,  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  as  built  by  the  first 
Antonine.  This  towered  above  the  walls,  and  over  all  the 
other  buildings,  and  gave  vast  ideas  of  the  greatness  of  the 
place,  leading  the  mind  to  crowd  it  with  other  edifices  that 
should  bear  some  proportion  to  this  noble  monument  of 
imperial  magnificence.  As  suddenly  as  the  view  of  this 
imposing  scene  had  been  revealed,  so  suddenly  was  it  again 
eclipsed  by  another  short  turn  in  the  road,  which  took  us 
once  more  into  the  mountain  valleys.  But  the  overhang 
ing  and  impenetrable  foliage  of  a  Syrian  forest  shielding 
me  from  the  fierce  rays  of  a  burning  sun,  soon  reconciled 
me  to  my  loss,  —  more  especially  as  I  knew  that  in  a  short 
time  we  were  to  enter  upon  the  sandy  desert  which  stretches 
from  the  Anti-Libanus  almost  to  the  very  walls  of  Palmyra. 
Upon  this  boundless  desert  we  now  soon  entered.  The 
scene  which  it  presented  was  more  dismal  than  I  can  de 
scribe.  A  red,  moving  sand,  or  hard  and  baked  by  the 
heat  of  a  sun  such  as  Borne  never  knows ;  low,  gray  rocks 
just  rising  here  and  there  above  the  level  of  the  plain,  with 
now  and  then  the  dead  and  glittering  trunk  of  a  vast  cedar, 
whose  roots  seemed  as  if  they  had  outlasted  centuries ;  the 
bones  of  camels  and  elephants  scattered  on  either  hand,  daz 
zling  the  sight  by  reason  of  their  excessive  whiteness ;  at  a 
distance  occasionally  an  Arab  of  the  desert,  for  a  moment 
surveying  our  long  line,  and  then  darting  off  to  his  fastnesses, 
—  these  were  the  objects  which,  with  scarce  any  varia 
tion,  met  our  eyes  during  the  four  .vearisome  days  that  we 

2 


18  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

dragged  ourselves  over  this  wild  and  inhospitable  region. 
A  little  after  noon  of  the  fourth  day,  as  we  started  on  our 
way,  having  refreshed  ourselves  and  our  exhausted  animals 
at  a  spring  which  here  poured  out  its  warm,  but  still  grate 
ful  waters  to  the  traveller,  my  ears  received  the  agreeable 
news  that  toward  the  east  there  could  now  be  discerned  the 
dark  line  which  indicated  our  approach  to  the  verdant  tract 
that  encompasses  the  great  city.  Our  own  excited  spirits 
were  quickly  imparted  to  our  beasts,  and  a  more  rapid 
movement  soon  revealed  into  distinctness  the  high  land 
and  waving  groves  of  palm-trees  which  mark  the  site  of 
Palmyra. 

It  was  several  miles  before  we  reached  the  city,  that  we 
suddenly  found  ourselves  —  landing,  as  it  were,  from  a  sea 
upon  an  island  or  continent  —  in  a  rich  and  thickly  peopled 
country.  The  roads  indicated  an  approach  to  a  great  capi 
tal,  in  the  increasing  numbers  of  those  who  thronged  them, 
meeting  and  passing  us,  overtaking  us,  or  crossing  our 
path.  Elephants,  camels,  and  the  dromedary,  which  I  had 
before  seen  only  in  the  amphitheatres,  I  here  beheld  as  the 
native  inhabitants  of  the  soil.  Frequent  villas  of  the  rich 
and  luxurious  Palmyrenes,  to  which  they  retreat  from  the 
greater  heats  of  the  city,  now  threw  a  lovely  charm  over 
the  scene.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  splendour  of  these 
sumptuous  palaces.  Italy  itself  has  nothing  which  sur 
passes  them.  The  new  and  brilliant  costumes  of  the  per 
sons  whom  we  met,  together  with  the  rich  housings  of  the 
animals  which  they  rode,  served  greatly  to  add  to  all  this 
beauty.  I  was  still  entranced,  as  it  were,  by  the  objects 
around  me,  and  buried  in  reflection,  when  I  was  aroused 
by  the  shout  of  those  who  led  the  caravan,  and  who  had  at 
tained  the  summit  of  a  little  rising  ground,  saying,  "  Pal 
myra  !  Palmyra !  "  I  urged  forward  my  steed,  and  in  a 
moment  the  most  wonderful  prospect  I  ever  beheld  —  no,  I 
cannot  except  even  Eome  —  burst  upon  my  sight.  Flanked 
by  hills  of  considerable  elevation  on  the  east,  the  city  filled 
the  whole  plain  below  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  both 
toward  the  north  and  toward  the  south.  This  immense 


THE  VOYAGE.  19 

plain  was  all  one  vast  and  boundless  city.  It  seemed  to 
me  to  be  larger  than  Eome.  Yet  I  knew  very  well  that  it 
could  not  be ;  that  it  was  not.  And  it  was  some  time  be 
fore  I  understood  the  true  character  of  the  scene  before  me, 
so  as  to  separate  the  city  from  the  country,  and  the  country 
from  the  city,  which  here  wonderfully  interpenetrate  each 
other,  and  so  confound  and  deceive  the  observer.  For  the 
city  proper  is  so  studded  with  groups  of  lofty  palm-trees 
shooting  up  among  its  temples  and  palaces,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  plain  in  its  immediate  vicinity  is  so  thickly 
adorned  with  magnificent  structures  of  the  purest  marble,  that 
it  is  not  easy,  nay,  it  is  impossible,  at  the  distance  at  which 
I  contemplated  the  whole,  to  distinguish  the  line  which 
divided  the  one  from  the  other.  It  was  all  city  and  all 
country,  all  country  and  all  city.  Those  which  lay  before 
me  I  was  ready  to  believe  were  the  Elysian  Fields.  I 
imagined  that  I  saw  under  my  feet  the  dwellings  of  puri 
fied  men  and  of  gods.  Certainly  they  were  too  glorious  for 
the  mere  earth-born.  There  was  a  central  point,  however, 
which  chiefly  fixed  my  attention,  where  the  vast  Temple 
of  the  Sun  stretched  upwards  its  thousand  columns  of  pol 
ished  marble  to  the  heavens,  in  its  matchless  beauty  cast 
ing  into  the  shade  every  other  work  of  art  of  which  the 
world  can  boast.  I  have  stood  before  the  Parthenon,  and 
have  almost  worshipped  that  divine  achievement  of  the  im 
mortal  Phidias.  But  it  is  a  toy  by  the  side  of  this  bright 
crown  of  the  Eastern  capital.  I  have  been  at  Milan,  at 
Ephesus,  at  Alexandria,  at  Antioch ;  but  in  neither  of  those 
renowned  cities  have  I  beheld  anything  that  I  can  allow  to 
approach,  in  united  extent,  grandeur,  and  most  consummate 
beauty,  this  almost  more  than  work  of  man.  On  each  side 
of  this,  the  central  point,  there  rose  upwards  slender  pyra 
mids,  pointed  obelisks,  domes  of  the  most  graceful  pro 
portions,  columns,  arches,  and  lofty  towers,  for  number  and 
for  form  beyond  my  power  to  describe.  These  buildings, 
as  well  as  the  walls  of  the  city,  being  all  either  of  white 
marble,  or  of  some  stone  as  white,  and  being  everywhere  in 
their  whole  extent  interspersed,  as  I  have  already  said,  with 


20  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

multitudes  of  overshadowing  palm-trees,  perfectly  filled  and 
satisfied  my  sense  of  beauty,  and  made  me  feel,  for  the  mo 
ment,  as  if  in  such  a  scene  I  should  love  to  dwell,  and  there 
end  my  days.  Nor  was  I  alone  in  these  transports  of  de 
light.  All  my  fellow-travellers  seemed  equally  affected; 
and  from  the  native  Palmyrenes,  of  whom  there  were  many 
among  us,  the  most  impassioned  and  boastful  exclamations 
broke  forth.  "  What  is  Kome  to  this  ?  "  they  cried  :  "  For 
tune  is  not  constant.  Why  may  not  Palmyra  be  what 
Rome  has  been, —  mistress  of  the  world?  Who  more  fit  to 
rule  than  the  great  Zenobia  ?  A  few  years  may  see  great 
changes.  Who  can  tell  what  shall  come  to  pass  ?  "  These, 
and  many  such  sayings,  were  uttered  by  those  around  me, 
accompanied  by  many  significant  gestures  and  glances  of  the 
eye.  I  thought  of  them  afterwards.  We  now  descended 
the  hill,  and  the  long  line  of  our  caravan  moved  on  toward 
the  city. 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  21 


LETTEK  IL 

FAUSTA'S  HOME. 

A  PALMYRENE  HOME.  —  THE  SLAVES.  —  GRACCHUS.  —  FAUSTA. — 
THE  PURPOSE  OF  Piso's  JOURNEY.  —  A  LOST  BROTHER.  —  THE 
DOUBTS  OF  GRACCHUS. 

I  FEAR  lest  the  length  of  my  first  letter  may  have  fa 
tigued  you,  my  Curtius,  knowing,  as  I  so  well  do,  how 
you  esteem  brevity.  I  hope  at  this  time  not  to  try  your 
patience.  But  however  I  may  weary  or  vex  you  by  my 
garrulity,  I  am  sure  of  a  patient  and  indulgent  reader  in  the 
dear  Lucilia,  to  whom  I  would  now  first  of  all  commend 
myself.  I  salute  her,  and  with  her  the  little  Gallus.  My 
writing  to  you  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  I  myself  am  well. 

By  reason  of  our  delaying  so  long  on  that  little  hill,  and 
at  other  points,  for  the  sake  of  drinking  in  full  draughts  of 
the  unrivalled  beauty  which  lay  spread  over  all  the  scenery 
within  the  scope  of  our  vision,  we  did  not  approach  the 
walls  of  the  city  till  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  were  lingering 
upon  the  higher  buildings  of  the  capital.  This  rendered 
every  object  so  much  the  more  beautiful;  for  a  flood  of 
golden  light,  of  a  richer  hue,  it  seemed  to  me,  than  our 
sun  ever  sheds  upon  Rome,  rolled  over  the  city  and  plain 
and  distant  mountains,  giving  to  the  whole  a  gorgeousness 
altogether  beyond  anything  I  ever  saw  before,  and  agreeing 
well  with  all  my  impressions  of  oriental  magnificence.  It 
was  seen  under  the  right  aspect.  Not  one  expectation  was 
disappointed,  but  rather  exceeded,  as  we  came  in  sight  of 
the  vast  walls  of  the  city,  and  of  the  "  Roman  Gate" — so 
it  is  called  —  through  which  we  were  to  make  our  entrance. 
It  was  all  upon  the  grandest  scale.  The  walls  were  higher, 
and  more  frequently  defended  by  square  massy  towers, 


\ 

22  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

springing  out  of  them,  than  those  of  Rome.  The  towers, 
which  on  either  side  flanked  the  gateway,  and  which  were 
connected  by  an  immense  arch  flung  from  one  to  the  other, 
were  particularly  magnificent.  No  sooner  had  we  passed 
through  it,  than  we  found  ourselves  in  a  street  lined  as 
it  were  with  palaces.  It  was  of  great  width,  —  we  have 
no  street  like  it  in  this  respect,  —  of  an  exact  level,  and 
stretched  onward  farther  than  the  eye  could  distinctly 
reach,  till,  as  I  was  told,  it  was  terminated  by  another 
gate  similar  to  that  by  which  we  had  entered.  The  build 
ings  on  each  side  of  it  were  altogether  of  marble,  of  Grecian 
design,  —  the  city  is  filled  with  Greek  artists  of  every  de 
scription,  —  frequently  adorned  with  porticos  of  the  most 
rich  and  costly  construction,  and  the  long  ranges  of  private 
dwellings  often  interrupted  by  temples  of  religion,  edifices 
of  vast  extent  belonging  to  the  state,  or  by  gardens  attached 
to  the  residences  of  the  luxurious  Palmyrene  nobility. 

"  It  is  well  for  Palmyra, "  here  muttered  my  slave  Milo, 
"  that  the  Emperor  has  never,  like  us,  travelled  this  way.  " 

"  Why  so,  Milo  ?  "  said  I. 

"  I  simply  think, "  rejoined  he,  "  that  he  would  burn  it 
down ;  and  it  were  a  pity  so  many  fine  buildings  should  be 
destroyed.  Was  there  not  once  a  place  called  Carthage  ? 
I  have  heard  it  said  that  it  was  once  as  large  as  Rome,  and 
as  well  garnished  with  temples,  and  for  that  reason  the 
Romans  '  blotted  it  out. '  The  people  here  may  thank  the 
desert  which  we  have  crossed,  that  they  are  not  as  Car 
thage.  Aurelian,  I  trow,  little  dreams  what  glory  is  to  be 
won  here  in  the  East,  or  else  he  would  not  waste  his  time 
upon  the  savage  Goths.  " 

"  The  Romans  are  no  longer  barbarians, "  I  replied,  "  as 
they  were  once.  They  build  up  now,  instead  of  demolish 
ing.  Remember  that  Augustus  rebuilt  Carthage,  and  that 
Antoninus  Pius  founded  that  huge  and  beautiful  temple 
which  rose  out  of  the  midst  of  Baalbec ;  and  beside  that  — 
if  I  am  not  mistaken  —  many  of  the  noblest  monuments  of 
art  in  this  very  city  are  the  fruit  of  his  munificence. " 

"  Gods !  what  a  throng  is  here ! "  ejaculated  Milo,  little 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  23 

heeding,  apparently,  what  I  had  said ;  "  How  are  we  to  get 
our  beasts  along  ?  They  pay  no  more  regard  to  us,  either, 
than  if  we  were  not  Komans.  Could  any  one  have  believed 
a  people  existed  of  such  strange  customs  and  appearance  ? 
What  carriages,  what  wagons,  what  animals,  and  what 
unheard-of  dresses,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  earth,  too, 
as  it  would  seem !  But  it  is  a  pretty  sight.  Pity,  though, 
but  they  could  move  as  quick  as  they  look  well.  Fellow, 
there,  you  will  gratify  us  if  you  will  start  your  camels 
a  little  out  of  our  way!  We  wish  to  make  toward  the 
house  of  Gracchus,  and  we  cannot  pass  you. " 

The  rider  of  the  camel  turned  round  his  turbaned  head, 
and  fixing  upon  Milo  a  pair  of  fierce  eyes,  bade  him  hold 
his  peace:  — 

"  Did  he  not  see  the  street  was  crowded  ?  " 

"  I  see  it  is  filled  with  a  set  of  dull  idlers, "  replied  Milo, 
"  who  want  nothing  but  Eoman  rods  to  teach  them  a  quick 
and  wholesome  movement.  Friend,  lend  me  thy  cudgel; 
and  I  will  engage  to  set  thy  beasts  and  thee,  too,  in  mo 
tion.  If  not,  consider  that  we  are  newcomers,  and  Komans, 
withal,  and  that  we  deserve  some  regard. " 

"  Komans !  "  screamed  he ;  "  may  curses  light  on  you ! 
You  swarm  here  like  locusts,  and  like  them  you  come  but 
to  devour.  Take  my  counsel :  turn  your  faces  the  other 
way,  and  off  to  the  desert  again  !  I  give  you  no  welcome, 
for  one.  Now  pass  on  —  if  on  you  still  will  go  —  and  take 
the  curse  of  Hassan  the  Arab  along  with  you. " 

"  Milo, "  said  I  "  have  a  care  how  you  provoke  these 
Orientals.  Bethink  yourself  that  we  are  not  now  in  the 
streets  of  Rome.  Bridle  your  tongue  betimes,  or  your  head 
may  roll  off  your  shoulders  before  you  can  have  time  to  eat 
your  words  to  save  it.  " 

"  I  am  a  slave,  indeed, "  answered  Milo,  with  some  dig 
nity  for  him,  "  but  I  eat  other  food  than  my  own  words. 
In  that  there  hangs  something  of  the  Koman  about  me. " 

We  were  now  opposite  what  I  discovered,  from  the  stat 
ues  and  emblems  upon  it  and  surrounding  it,  to  be  the 
Temple  of  Justice,  and  I  knew,  therefore,  that  the  palace 


24  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  adorned  with  porticos,  and 
partly  hidden  among  embowering  trees  and  shrubs,  must 
be  the  dwelling  of  Gracchus. 

We  turned  doavn  into  a  narrower  street,  and  after  pro 
ceeding  a  little  way,  passed  under  a  massy  arched  gate 
way,  and  found  ourselves  in  the  spacious  court-yard  of^bhis 
princely  mansion.  Slaves  soon  surrounded  us,  and  by  their 
alacrity  in  assisting  me  to  dismount,  and  in  performing 
every  office  of  an  hospitable  reception,  showed  that  we  were 
expected  guests,  and  that  my  letter  announcing  my  intended 
visit  had  been  received.  Leaving  my  slaves  and  effects  to 
the  care  of  the  servants  of  the  house,  I  followed  one  who 
seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  head  among  them,  through  walks 
bordered  with  the  choicest  trees,  flowers,  and  shrubs,  open 
ing  here  and  there  in  the  most  graceful  manner  to  reveal  a 
statue  of  some  sylvan  god  reclining  under  the  shade,  and 
soon  reached  the  rear  of  the  house,  which  I  entered  by  a 
flight  of  marble  steps.  Through  a  lofty  hall  I  passed  into 
a  saloon  which  seemed  the  reception-room  of  the  palace, 
where  I  had  hardly  arrived,  and  obtained  one  glance  at  my 
soiled  dress  and  sunburnt  visage  in  the  mirror,  than  my 
ear  caught  the  quick  sound  of  a  female  foot  hastening  over 
the  pavement  of  the  hall,  and,  turning  suddenly,  I  caught 
in  my  arms  the  beautiful  Fausta.  It  was  well  for  me  that 
I  was  so  taken  by  surprise,  for  I  acted  naturally,  which  I 
fear  I  should  not  have  done  if  I  had  had  a  moment  to  de 
liberate  before  I  met  her ;  for  she  is  no  longer  a  girl,  as  in 
Rome,  running  and  jumping  after  her  slave  to  school,  but 
a  nearly  full-grown  woman,  and  of  a  beauty  so  imposing 
as  might  well  cause  embarrassment  in  a  youth  of  even  more 
pretensions  than  myself. 

"  Are  you,  indeed, "  said  I,  retaining  each  hand  in  mine, 
but  feeling  that,  in  spite  of  all  my  assumed  courage,  I  was 
covered  with  blushes,  "  are  you  indeed  the  little  Fausta  ? 
Truly,  there  must  be  marvellous  virtues  in  the  air  of  Pal 
myra.  It  is  but  four  years  since  you  left  Rome,  and  then, 
as  I  remember  —  shall  I  mention  such  a  thing  ?  —  you  were 
but  twelve,  and  now,  though  but"  — 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  25 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  she,  "  never  begin  such  a  speech  ;  it  will  only 
trouble  you  before  you  can  end  it.  How  glad  I  am  to  see 
you !  Welcome,  dear  Lucius,  to  Palmyra !  If  open  hearts 
can  make  you  happy  here,  you  will  not  fail  to  be  so.  But 
how  did  you  leave  all  in  Rome  ?  First  your  friend  Marcus, 
and  Lucilia,  and  the  noble,  good  Portia  ?  Ah,  how  happy 
were  those  days  in  Rome !  Come,  sit  on  these  cushions  by 
this  open  window.  But  more  than  all,  how  does  the  dear 
pedagogue  and  dialectician,  the  learned  Solon  ?  Is  he  as 
wise  yet  as  his  great  namesake  ?  Oh,  what  days  of  merri 
ment  have  his  vanity  and  simplicity  afforded  me !  But  he 
was  a  good  soul.  Would  he  could  have  accompanied  you. 
You  are  not  so  far  out  of  leading  strings  that  you  could 
not  have  taken  him  with  you  as  a  travelling  Mentor.  In 
truth,  nothing  could  have  given  me  more  pleasure. " 

"  I  came  away  in  great  haste,  dear  Fausta, "  said  I,  "  with 
scarce  a  moment  for  preparation  of  any  kind.  You  have 
but  this  morning  received  my  letter,  which  was  but  part  of 
a  day  in  advance  of  me.  If  I  could  have  done  it,  I  should 
have  given  you  more  timely  notice.  I  could  not,  therefore, 
look  out  for  companions  for  the  way.  It  would,  however, 
have  been  a  kindness  to  Solon,  and  a  pleasure  to  me.  But 
why  have  I  not  before  asked  for  your  father  ?  Is  not  the 
noble  Gracchus  at  home  ?  —  and  is  he  well  ?  " 

"  He  is  at  home,  or  rather  he  is  in  the  city, "  replied 
Fausta,  "  and  why  he  makes  it  so  late  before  returning,  I 
cannot  tell ;  but  you  will  soon  see  him.  In  the  mean  time, 
let  my  slaves  show  you  where  to  find  your  rooms,  that  you 
may  rest,  and  prepare  for  supper.  " 

So  saying,  she  clapped  her  hands,  and  a  tall  Ethiopian, 
with  a  turban  as  white  as  his  face  was  black,  quickly  made 
his  appearance,  and  took  me  in  his  charge. 

"  Look  well  after  your  toilet, "  cried  Fausta,  laughing,  as 
I  left  the  room ;  "  we  think  more  of  costume  here  than  they 
do  in  Rome. " 

I  followed  my  dark  conductor  through  many  passages  to  a 
distant  part  of  the  building,  where  I  found  apartments  fur 
nished  with  every  luxury,  and  already  prepared  for  my  use. 


26  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Here  I  have  carefully  placed  your  baggage, "  said  the 
slave,  as  I  entered  the  room,  "  and  whatever  else  I  thought 
you  might  need.  Call  Hannibal  when  you  wish  for  my 
services ;  I  am  now  yours.  This  door  leads  to  a  small 
room,  where  will  lodge  your  own  slave  Milo;  the  others 
are  in  the  stables.  *  Thus  delivering  himself,  he  departed. 

The  windows  of  my  apartment  opened  upon  the  wide 
street  by  which  we  had  entered  the  city, —  not  immedi 
ately,  but  first  upon  a  border  of  trees  and  flowers,  then  upon 
a  low  wall,  here  and  there  crowned  with  a  statue  or  a  vase, 
and  which  separated  the  house  from  the  street,  and  last 
upon  the  street  itself,  its  busy  throngs,  and  noble  struc 
tures.  I  stood  for  a  moment  enjoying  the  scene,  rendered 
more  impressive  by  the  dim  but  still  glowing  light  of  the 
declining  day.  Sounds  of  languages  which  I  knew  not  fell 
upon  my  ear,  sent  forth  by  those  who  urged  along  through 
the  crowds  their  cattle,  or  by  those  who  would  draw  atten 
tion  to  the  articles  which  they  had  to  sell.  All  was  new 
and  strange,  and  tended,  together  with  my  reflections  upon 
the  business  which  had  borne  me  so  far  from  my  home  and 
you,  to  fill  me  with  melancholy.  I  was  roused  from  my 
reverie  by  the  voice  of  Milo. 

"  If, n  said  he,  "  the  people  of  these  Eastern  regions  un 
derstand  better  than  we  of  Eome  the  art  of  taking  off  heads, 
they  certainly  understand  better,  as  in  reason  they  should, 
the  art  of  making  them  comfortable  while  they  are  on: 
already  I  have  taken  a  longer  draught  at  a  wine-skin  than 
I  have  been  blessed  with  since  I  was  in  the  service  of  the 
most  noble  Gallienus.  Ah,  that  was  life!  He  was  your 
true  philosopher,  who  thought  life  made  for  living.  These 
Palmyrenes  seem  of  his  school.  " 

"  Leave  philosophy,  good  Milo,  and  come  help  me  dress ; 
that  is  the  matter  now  in  hand.  Unclasp  these  trunks,  and 
find  something  that  shall  not  deform  me.  " 

So  desirous  was  I,  you  perceive,  to  appear  well  in  the 
eyes  of  the  fair  Fausta. 

It  was  now  the  appointed  hour  to  descend  to  the  supper- 
room,  and  as  I  was  about  to  leave  my  apartment,  hardly 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  27 

knowing  which  way  to  move,  the  Ethiopian,  Hannibal, 
made  his  appearance,  to  serve  as  my  conductor. 

I  was  ushered  into  an  apartment,  not  large,  but  of  exqui 
site  proportions,  — circular,  and  of  the  most  perfect  archi 
tecture,  on  the  Greek  principles.  The  walls,  thrown  into 
panels  between  the  windows  and  doors,  were  covered  with 
paintings,  admirable  both  for  their  design  and  colour ;  and 
running  all  around  the  room,  and  attached  to  the  walls,  was 
a  low  and  broad  seat  covered  with  cushions  of  the  richest 
workmanship  and  material.  A  lofty  and  arched  ceiling, 
lighted  by  invisible  lamps,  represented  a  banquet  of  the 
gods,  offering  to  those  seated  at  the  tables  below  a  high 
example  of  the  manner  in  which  the  divine  gifts  should  be 
enjoyed.  This  evening,  at  least,  we  did  not  use  the  privi 
leges  which  that  high  example  sanctioned.  Fausta  was 
already  in  the  room,  and  rose  with  affectionate  haste  to 
greet  me  again. 

"  I  fear  my  toilet  has  not  been  very  successful,  Fausta, " 
said  I,  "  for  my  slave  Milo  was  too  much  elated  by  the 
generous  wines  with  which  his  companions  had  plied  him, 
as  a  cordial  after  the  fatigues  of  the  journey,  to  give  me 
any  of  the  benefit  of  his  taste  or  assistance.  I  have  been 
my  own  artificer  on  this  occasion,  and  you  must  therefore 
be  gentle  in  your  judgments.  " 

"  I  cannot  say  that  your  fashions  are  equally  tasteful 
with  those  of  our  Palmyrenes,  I  must  confess.  The  love 
of  the  beautiful,  the  magnificent,  and  the  luxurious,  is  our 
national  fault,  Lucius ;  it  betrays  itself  in  every  department 
of  civil  and  social  life,  and  not  unfrequently  declines  into  a 
degrading  effeminacy.  If  anything  ruins  us  it  will  be  this 
vice.  I  assure  you,  I  was  rather  jesting  than  in  earnest, 
when  I  bade  you  look  to  your  toilet.  When  you  shall 
have  seen  some  of  our  young  nobles,  you  will  find  reason  to 
be  proud  of  your  comparative  simplicity.  I  hear,  however, 
that  you  are  not  now  far  behind  us  in  Kome,  —  nay,  in  many 
excesses  you  go  greatly  beyond  us.  We  have  never  yet  had 
a  Vitellius,  a  Pollio,  or  a  Gallienus.  And  may  the  sands 
of  the  desert  bury  us  a  thousand  fathoms  deep,  ere  such 
monsters  shall  be  bred  and  endured  in  Palmyra !  " 


28  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  I  perceive,  *  said  I,  "  that  your  sometime  residence  in 
Rome  has  not  taught  you  to  love  your  native  country  less. 
If  but  a  small  portion  of  the  fire  which  I  see  burning  in 
your  eye  warms  the  hearts  of  the  people,  it  will  be  no  easy 
matter  for  any  external  foe  to  subdue  you. " 

"  There  are  not  many,  I  believe, "  replied  Fausta,  "  of 
your  or  my  sex  in  Palmyra,  who  would  with  more  alacrity 
lay  down  their  lives  for  their  country,  and  our  sweet  and 
noble  queen,  than  I.  But,  believe  me,  Lucius,  there  are 
multitudes  who  would  do  it  as  soon.  Zenobia  will  lead  the 
way  to  no  battle-field  where  Fausta,  girl  though  she  be,  will 
not  follow.  Remember  what  I  say,  I  pray  you,  if  difficulty 
should  ever  again  grow  up  —  which  the  gods  f orefend !  —  be 
tween  us  and  Rome. " 

We  were  now  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  loud  and 
cheerful  voice  of  Gracchus,  exclaiming  as  he  approached  us 
from  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  "  How  now !  how  now ! 
whom  have  we  here  ?  Are  my  eyes  and  ears  true  to  their 
report  —  Lucius  Piso  ?  It  is  he  indeed !  Thrice  welcome  to 
Palmyra !  May  a  visit  from  so  noble  a  house  be  an  augury 
of  good!  You  are  quick,  indeed,  upon  the  track  of  your 
letter.  How  have  you  sped  by  the  way  ?  I  need  not  ask 
after  your  welfare,  for  I  see  it ;  but  I  am  impatient  to  learn 
all  that  you  can  tell  me  of  friends  and  enemies  in  Rome.  I 
dare  say  all  this  has  been  once  told  to  Fausta ;  but,  as  a 
penalty  for  arriving  while  I  was  from  home,  it  must  be 
repeated  for  my  special  pleasure.  But  come,  that  can  be 
done  while  we  sit  at  table ;  I  see  the  supper  waits. " 

In  this  pleasant  mood  did  the  father  of  Fausta,  and  now, 
as  you  know,  one  of  the  chief  pillars  of  the  province  or 
kingdom,  —  whichever  it  must  be  called,  —  receive  me.  I 
was  struck  with  the  fine  union,  in  his  appearance  and  man 
ner,  of  courtly  ease  and  a  noble  Roman  frankness.  His 
head,  slightly  bald,  but  cast  in  the  truest  mould  of  manly 
beauty,  would  have  done  honour  to  any  of  his  illustrious 
ancestors ;  and  his  figure  was  entirely  worthy  of  that  fault 
less  crown.  I  confess,  I  experienced  a  pang  of  regret  that 
one  so  fitted  to  sustain  and  adorn  the  greatness  of  his  parent 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  29 

country  had  chosen  to  cast  his  fortunes  so  far  from  the 
great  centre  and  heart  of  the  empire.  After  the  first  duties 
of  the  table  had  been  gone  through,  and  my  hunger  —  real 
hunger  —  had  been  appeased  by  the  various  delicacies  which 
my  kind  hostess  urged  upon  me,  noways  unwilling  to  re 
ceive  such  tokens  of  regard,  I  took  up  the  questions  of 
Gracchus,  and  gave  him  a  full  account  of  our  social  and 
political  state  in  Kome;  to  all  which,  Fausta,  too,  lent  a 
greedy  ear,  her  fine  face  sparkling  with  all  the  intelligence 
which  beamed  out  of  every  feature.  It  was  easy  to  see  how 
deep  an  interest  she  took  in  matters  to  which  her  sex  are 
usually  so  insensible.  It  is  indescribable,  the  imperial 
pride  and  lofty  spirit  of  independence  which  at  times  sat 
upon  her  brow,  and  curled  her  lip.  She  seems  to  me  made 
to  command.  She  is,  indeed,  courteous  and  kind ;  but  you, 
not  with  difficulty,  see  that  she  is  bold,  aspiring,  and 
proud,  beyond  the  common  measure  of  woman.  Her  beauty 
is  of  this  character ;  it  is  severe  rather  than  in  any  sense 
soft  or  feminine.  Her  features  are  those  of  her  father,  truly 
Koman  in  their  outline  ;  and  their  combined  expression  goes 
to  impress  every  beholder  with  the  truth,  that  Koman  blood 
alone,  and  that,  too,  of  all  the  Gracchi,  runs  in  her  veins. 
Her  form  harmonizes  perfectly  with  the  air  and  character 
of  the  face.  It  is  indicative  of  great  vigour  and  decision  in 
every  movement ;  yet  it  is  graceful,  and  of  such  proportions 
as  would  suit  the  most  fastidious  Greek.  I  am  thus  minute 
in  telling  you  how  Fausta  struck  me,  because  I  know  the 
interest  you  and  Lucilia  both  take  in  her,  and  how  you  will 
desire  to  have  from  me  as  exact  a  picture  as  I  can  draw. 
Be  relieved,  my  dear  friends,  as  to  the  state  of  my  heart, 
nor  indulge  in  either  hopes  or  suspicions  in  this  direction. 
I  assure  you,  I  am  not  yet  a  captive  at  the  fair  feet  of 
Fausta,  nor  do  I  think  I  shall  be.  But,  if  such  a  thing 
should  happen,  depend  upon  my  friendship  to  give  you  the 
earliest  intelligence  of  the  event.  Whoever  shall  obtain 
the  heart  of  Fausta  will  win  one  of  which  a  Caesar  might 
be  proud.  But  to  return  to  our  present  interview  and  its 
event. 


30  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

No  sooner  had  I  ended  my  account  of  the  state  of  affairs 
at  Eome,  than  Gracchus  expressed,  in  the  strongest  terms, 
his  joy  that  we  were  so  prosperous.  "  It  agrees,"  said  he, 
"  with  all  that  we  lately  heard.  Aurelian  is,  in  truth,  en 
titled  to  the  praise  which  belongs  to  a  reformer  of  the  state. 
The  army  has  not  been  under  such  discipline  since  the  days 
of  Vespasian.  He  has  now,  as  we  learn  by  the  last  arrival 
of  news  from  the  North,  by  the  way  of  Antioch,  nearly 
completed  the  subjection  of  the  Goths  and  Alemanni,  and 
rumours  are  afloat,  of  an  unpleasant  nature,  of  an  Eastern 
expedition.  For  this,  no  ground  occurs  to  me,  except,  pos 
sibly,  an  attempt  upon  Persia  for  the  rescue  of  Valerian, 
if  yet  he  be  living,  or  for  the  general  vindication  of  the 
honour  of  Eome  against  the  disgraceful  successes  of  the 
Great  King.  I  cannot  for  one  moment  believe  that  toward 
Palmyra  any  other  policy  will  be  adopted  than  that  which 
has  been  pursued  for  the  last  century  and  a  half,  and  em 
phatically  sanctioned,  as  you  well  know,  by  both  Gallienus 
and  Claudius.  Standing  on  the  honourable  footing,  as 
nominally  a  part  of  the  empire  of  Kome,  but,  in  fact,  a 
sovereign  and  independent  power,  we  enjoy  all  that  we  can 
desire  in  the  form  of  political  privileges.  Then,  for  our 
commerce,  it  could  not  be  more  flourishing,  or  conducted 
on  more  advantageous  terms,  even  to  Eome  itself.  In  one 
word,  we  are  contented,  prosperous,  and  happy,  and  the 
crime  of  that  man  would  be  great  indeed,  who,  from  any 
motive  of  personal  ambition,  or  any  policy  of  state,  would 
disturb  our  existing  relations  of  peace  and  friendship  with 
all  the  world. " 

To  this  I  replied :  "  I  most  sincerely  trust  that  no  design, 
such  as  you  hint  at,  exists  in  the  mind  of  Aurelian.  I 
know  him,  and  know  him  to  be  ambitious  and  imperious, 
as  he  is  great  in  resources  and  unequalled  in  military  sci 
ence;  but  with  all  he  is  a  man  of  wisdom,  and,  in  the 
main,  of  justice  too.  That  he  is  a  true  lover  of  his  coun 
try,  I  am  sure ;  and  that  the  glory  of  that  country  is  dearer 
to  him  than  all  other  objects,  — that  it  rises  in  him  almost 
to  a  species  of  madness,  —  this  I  know  too ;  and  it  is  from 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  31 

this  quarter,  if  from  any,  that  danger  is  to  be  apprehended. 
He  will  have  Kome  to  be  all  in  all.  His  desire  is,  that  it 
should  once  more  possess  the  unity  that  it  did  under  the 
Antonines.  This  idea  dwelt  upon  may  lead  him  into  enter 
prises  from  which,  however  defended  on  the  ground  of  the 
empire's  glory,  will  result  in  nothing  but  discredit  to  him 
self  and  injury  to  the  state.  I,  too,  have  heard  the  rumours 
of  which  you  speak,  but  I  cannot  give  them  one  moment's 
credence ;  and  I  pray  most  fervently,  that  springing,  as 
they  do,  no  one  knows  whence,  nor  on  what  authority  rest 
ing,  they  will  not  be  permitted  to  have  the  least  effect  upon 
the  mind  of  the  queen,  nor  upon  any  of  her  advisers.  She 
is  now  in  reality  an  independent  sovereign,  reigning  over 
an  immense  empire,  stretching  from  Egypt  to  the  shores 
of  the  Euxine,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Euphrates;^ 
and  she  still  stands  upon  the  records  of  the  senate  as  a  col 
league  —  even  as  when  Odenatus  shared  the  throne  with  her 
—  of  the  emperor.  This  is  a  great  and  a  fortunate  position. 
The  gods  forbid  that  any  intemperance  on  the  part  of  the 
Palmyrenes  should  rouse  the  anger  or  the  jealousy  of  the 
fierce  Aurelian  !  "  Could  I  have  said  less  than  this  ?  But 
I  saw  in  the  countenances  of  both,  whilst  I  was  speaking, 
especially  in  the  honest,  expressive  one  of  Fausta,  that 
they  could  brook  no  hint  of  inferiority  or  of  dependence 
on  the  part  of  their  country,  —  so  deep  a  place  has  the  great 
Zenobia  secured  for  herself  in  the  pride  and  most  sacred 
affections  of  this  people. 

"  I  will  not,  with  you,  noble  Piso, "  said  Gracchus,  "  be 
lieve  that  the  emperor  will  do  aught  to  break  up  the  present 
harmony.  I  will  have  faith  in  him,  and  I  shall  use  all  the 
influence  that  I  may  possess  in  the  affairs  of  the  state  to 
infuse  a  spirit  of  moderation  into  our  acts,  and  above  all 
into  our  language ;  for  one  hasty  word  uttered  in  certain 
quarters  may  lead  to  the  ruin  of  kingdoms  that  have  taken 
centuries  to  attain  their  growth.  But  this  I  say  :  let  there 
only  come  over  here  from  the  West  the  faintest  whisper  of 
any  purpose  on  the  part  of  Aurelian  to  consider  Zenobia  as 
holding  the  same  position  with  regard  to  Kome  as  Tetricus 


32  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

in  Gaul,  and  that  moment  a  flame  is  kindled  throughout 
Palmyra  that  nothing  but  blood  can  quench.  This  people, 
as  you  well  know,  has  been  a  free  people  from  the  earliest 
records  of  history,  and  they  will  sink  under  the  ruins  of 
their  capital  and  their  country,  ere  they  will  bend  to  a 
foreign  power. " 

"  That  will  they !  —  that  will  they  indeed !  "  cried  Fausta ; 
"  there  is  not  a  Palmyrene  who,  had  he  two  lives,  would 
not  give  one  for  liberty,  and  the  other  for  his  good  queen. 
You  do  not  know  Zenobia,  Lucius ;  nor  can  you  tell,  there 
fore,  how  reasonable  the  affection  is  which  binds  every  heart 
to  her  as  to  a  mother  or  a  sister. " 

"  But  enough  of  this  for  the  present, "  said  Gracchus : 
"  let  us  leave  the  affairs  of  nations,  and  ascend  to  those  of 
private  individuals,  —  for  I  suppose  your  philosophy  teaches 
you,  as  it  does  me,  that  individual  happiness  is  the  object 
for  which  governments  are  instituted,  and  that  they  are 
therefore  less  than  this,  —  let  us  ascend,  I  say,  from  the 
policy  of  Rome  and  of  Aurelian,  to  the  private  affairs  of  our 
friend  Lucius  Piso,  for  your  letter  gives  me  the  privilege  of 
asking  you  to  tell  us,  in  all  frankness  and  love,  what,  be 
side  the  pleasure  of  seeing  us,  brings  you  so  far  from  Rome. 
It  is,  you  hint,  a  business  of  a  painful  nature.  Use  me  and 
Fausta,  as  you  would  in  Rome  the  noble  Portia  and  the 
good  Lucilia,  with  the  same  Treedom  and  the  same  assur 
ance  of  our  friendship. " 

"  Do  so,  indeed, "  added  Fausta,  with  affectionate  warmth, 
"  and  feel  that,  in  addressing  us,  you  are  intrusting  your 
thoughts  to  true  and  long-tried  friends. " 

"  I  have, "  replied  I,  "  but  little  to  communicate,  but  that 
little  is  great  in  its  interest,  and  demands  immediate  ac 
tion;  and  touching  what  shall  be  most  expedient  to  be 
done,  I  shall  want  and  shall  ask  your  deliberate  counsel. 
You  are  well  aware,  alas  \  too  well  aware,  of  the  cruel  fate 
of  my  parent,  the  truly  great  Cneius  Piso,  whom  to  name 
is  always  a  spring  of  strength  to  my  virtues.  With  the 
unhappy  Valerian,  to  whom  he  clung  to  the  last,  resolved 
to  die  with  him,  or  suffer  with  him  whatever  the  fates 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  33 

should  decree,  he  passed  into  captivity ;  but  of  too  proud  a 
spirit  to  endure  the  indignities  which  were  heaped  upon  the 
emperor,  and  which  were  threatened  him,  he  —  so  we  have 
learned  —  destroyed  himself.  He  found  an  opportunity, 
however,  before  he  thus  nobly  used  his  power,  to  exhort 
my  poor  brothers  not  at  once,  at  least,  to  follow  his  exam 
ple.  '  You  are  young, '  said  he,  '  and  have  more  strength 
than  I,  and  the  gods  may  interpose  and  deliver  you.  Hope 
dwells  with  youth,  as  it  dies  with  age.  Do  not  despair. 
I  feel  that  you  will  one  day  return  to  Eome.  For  myself, 
I  am  a  decayed  trunk  at  best,  and  it  matters  little  when  I 
fall,  or  where  I  lie.  One  thing  at  least  I  cannot  bear ;  it 
would  destroy  me  if  I  did  not  destroy  myself.  I  am  a  Ro- 
man  and  a  Piso,  and  the  foot  of  a  Persian  shall  never  plant 
itself  upon  my  neck.  I  die. '  My  elder  brother,  thinking 
example  a  more  powerful  kind  of  precept  than  words,  no 
sooner  was  assured  of  the  death  of  his  father  than  he  too 
opened  his  veins,  and  perished.  And  so  we  learned  had 
Calpurnius  done,  and  we  were  comparatively  happy  in  the 
thought  that  they  had  escaped  by  a  voluntary  death  the 
shame  of  being  used  as  footstools  by  the  haughty  Sapor 
and  the  princes  of  his  court.  But  a  rumour  reached  us  a 
few  days  before  I  left  Rome,  that  Calpurnius  is  yet  living. 
We  learn,  obscurely,  that  being  favourably  distinguished 
and  secretly  favoured  by  the  son  of  Sapor,  he  was  persuaded 
to  live,  and  wait  for  the  times  to  open  a  way  for  his  escape. 
You  may  imagine  both  my  grief  and  my  joy  on  this  intelli 
gence.  The  thought  that  he  should  so  long  have  remained 
in  captivity  and  imprisonment,  and  no  step  have  been  taken 
toward  his  rescue,  has  weighed  upon  me  with  a  mountain 
weight  of  sorrow.  Yet  at  the  same  time  I  have  been  sup 
ported  by  the  hope  that  his  deliverance  may  be  effected, 
and  that  he  may  return  to  Rome  once  more  to  glad  the  eyes 
of  the  aged  Portia.  It  is  this  hope  which  has  brought  me 
to  Palmyra,  as  perhaps  the  best  point  whence  to  set  in  mo 
tion  the  measures  which  it  shall  be  thought  wisest  to  adopt. 
I  shall  rely  much  upon  your  counsel. "  No  sooner  had  I 
spoken  thus,  than  Fausta  quickly  exclaimed :  — 

ft 


34          ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYKA. 

"  Oh,  father,  how  easily,  were  the  queen  now  in  Palmyra, 
might  we  obtain  through  her  the  means  of  approaching  the 
Persian  king  with  some  hope  of  a  successful  appeal  to  his 
compassion !  —  and  yet"  —  She  hesitated  and  paused. 

"  I  perceive, "  said  Gracchus,  "  what  it  is  that  checks  your 
speech.  You  feel  that  in  this  matter  Zenobia  would  have 
no  power  with  the  Persian  monarch  or  court.  The  two 
nations  are  now,  it  is  true,  upon  friendly  terms ;  but  a  deep 
hatred  exists  in  the  heart  of  Sapor  toward  Zenobia.  The 
successive  defeats  which  he  suffered,  when  Odenatus  and 
his  queen  took  it  upon  them  to  vindicate  the  honour  of 
Borne,  and  revenge  the  foul  indignities  cast  upon  the  un 
fortunate  Valerian,  will  never  be  forgotten;  and  policy 
only,  not  love  or  regard,  keeps  the  peace  between  Persia 
and  Palmyra.  Sapor  fears  the  power  of  Zenobia,  supported, 
as  he  knows  she  would  be,  by  the  strength  of  Eome ;  and 
moreover,  he  is  well  aware  that  Palmyra  serves  as  a  pro 
tecting  wall  between  him  and  Eome,  and  that  her  existence 
as  an  independent  power  is  vital  to  the  best  interests  of 
his  kingdom.  For  these  reasons  harmony  prevails,  and  in 
the  event  of  a  rupture  between  us  and  Eome,  we  might  with 
certainty  calculate  upon  Persia  as  an  ally.  Still  Sapor  is 
an  enemy  at  heart.  His  pride,  humbled  as  it  was  by  that 
disastrous  rout  when  his  whole  camp  and  even  his  wives 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  royal  Odenatus,  will  never  recover 
from  the  wound,  and  will  prompt  to  acts  of  retaliation  and 
revenge,  rather  than  to  any  deed  of  kindness.  While  his 
public  policy  is,  and  doubtless  will  continue  to  be,  pacific, 
his  private  feelings  are,  and  ever  will  be,  bitter.  I  see  not 
how  in  this  business  we  can  rely  with  any  hope  of  advan 
tage  upon  the  interposition  of  the  queen.  If  your  brpther 
is  ever  rescued,  it  must,  I  think,  be  achieved  by  private 
enterprise. " 

"  Your  words, "  said  I,  "  have  pierced  me  through  with 
grief,  and  dispelled  in  a  moment  the  brightest  visions.  All 
the  way  from  Eome  have  I  been  cheered  by  the  hope  of 
what  the  queen,  at  your  solicitation,  would  be  able  to  at 
tempt  and  accomplish  in  my  behalf.  But  it  is  all  over 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  35 

I  feel  the  truth  of  what  you  have  urged.  I  see  it,  —  I  now 
see  it,  —  private  enterprise  can  alone  effect  his  deliverance ; 
and  from  this  moment  I  devote  myself  to  that  work.  If 
Eome  leaves  her  emperor  to  die  in  captivity,  so  will  not  I 
my  brother.  I  will  go  myself  to  the  den  of  this  worse  than 
barbarian  king,  and  bring  thence  the  loved  Calpurnius,  or 
leave  my  own  body  there  for  that  beast  to  batten  on.  It  is 
now,  indeed,  thirteen  years  since  Calpurnius  left  me,  a 
child,  in  Eome,  to  join  the  emperor  in  that  ill-fated  expe 
dition.  But  it  is  with  the  distinctness  of  a  yesterday's 
vision  that  he  now  stands  before  my  eyes  as  he  then  stood 
that  day  he  parted  from  us,  glittering  in  his  brilliant  ar 
mour,  and  his  face  just  as  brilliant  with  the  light  of  a  great 
and  trusting  spirit.  As  he  turned  from  the  last  embraces 
of  the  noble  Portia,  he  seized  me  in  his  arms,  and  imprint 
ing  upon  my  cheek  a  kiss,  bade  me  grow  a  man  at  once,  to 
take  care  of  the  household  while  they  were  gone  with  the 
good  emperor  to  fight  the  enemies  of  Eome  in  Asia.  He 
was,  as  I  remember  him,  of  a  quick  and  fiery  temper ;  but 
he  was  always  gentle  toward  me,  and  has  bound  me  to  him 
forever. " 

"  The  gods  prosper  you !  "  cried  Fausta,  "  as  surely  they 
will.  It  is  a  pious  work  to  which  you  put  your  hand,  and 
you  will  succeed. " 

"  Do  not,  Fausta, "  said  Gracchus,  "  lend  the  weight  of 
your  voice  to  urge  our  friend  to  measures  which  may  be 
rather  rash  than  wise,  and  may  end  only  in  causing  a  greater 
evil  than  what  already  exists.  Prudence  must  govern  us, 
as  well  as  affection.  By  venturing  yourself  at  once  into  the 
dominions  of  Persia  upon  such  an  errand,  it  is  scarcely  less 
than  certain  that  you  would  perish,  and  without  effecting 
your  object.  We  ought  to  consider,  too,  I  think,  what  the 
condition  and  treatment  of  Calpurnius  are,  before  too  great 
a  risk  is  incurred  for  his  rescue.  He  has  now,  we  are  to 
remember,  been  at  the  capital  of  the  great  king  thirteen 
years.  You  have  hinted  that  he  had  been  kindly  regarded 
by  the  son  of  Sapor.  Possibly  his  captivity  amounts  to 
no  more  than  a  foreign  residence,  —  a  sort  of  exile.  Pos- 


36  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

sibly  he  may,  in  this  long  series  of  years,  have  become 
changed  into  a  Persian.  I  understand  your  little  lip, 
Fausta,  and  your  indignant  frown,  Lucius;  but  what  I 
suggest  is  among  things  possible,  it  cannot  be  denied ;  and 
can  you  deny  it?  — not  so  very  unlikely  when  you  think 
what  the  feelings  of  one  must  have  been  to  be  so  wholly 
forgotten  and  abandoned  by  his  native  country,  and  that 
country  Eome,  the  mistress  of  the  world,  who  needed  but 
to  have  stretched  forth  the  half  of  her  power  to  have  broken 
forever  the  chains  of  his  slavery,  as  well  as  of  the  thou 
sands  who  with  him  have  been  left  to  linger  out  their  lives 
in  bondage.  If  Calpurnius  has  been  distinguished  by  the 
son  of  Sapor,  his  lot,  doubtless,  has  been  greatly  lightened ; 
and  he  may  now  be  living  as  a  Persian  prince.  My  coun 
sel  is,  therefore,  that  the  truth  in  this  regard  be  first  ob 
tained  before  the  life  of  another  son,  and  the  only  inheritor 
of  so  great  a  name,  be  put  in  jeopardy.  But  what  is  the 
exact  sum  of  what  you  have  learned,  and  upon  which  we 
may  rely,  and  from  which  reason  and  act  ?  * 

"  Our  knowledge, "  I  replied,  "  was  derived  from  a  soldier 
who,  by  a  great  and  happy  fortune,  escaped  and  reached  his 
native  Home.  He  only  knew  what  he  saw  when  he  was 
first  a  captive,  and  afterward,  by  chance,  had  heard  from 
others.  He  was,  he  said,  taken  to  serve  as  a  slave  about 
the  palace  of  the  king ;  and  it  was  there,  that  for  a  space  he 
was  an  eye-witness  to  the  cruel  and  insulting  usage  of  both 
Valerian  and  Calpurnius.  That  was  but  too  true,  he  said, 
which  had  been  reported  to  us,  that  whenever  the  proud 
Sapor  went  forth  to  mount  his  horse,  the  emperor  was 
brought,  in  the  face  of  the  whole  court  and  of  the  popu 
lace  who  crowded  around,  to  serve  as  his  footstool.  Clothed 
in  the  imperial  purple,  the  unfortunate  Valerian  received 
upon  his  neck  the  foot  of  Sapor,  and  bore  him  to  his  saddle. 
It  was  the  same  purpose  that  Calpurnius  was  made  to  serve 
for  the  young  prince  Hormisdas.  But,  said  the  soldier,  the 
prince  pitied  the  young  and  noble  Eoman,  and  would  gladly, 
at  the  beginning,  have  spared  him  the  indignity  put  upon 
him  by  the  stem  command  of  his  haughty  and  cruel  father. 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  37 

He  often  found  occasion  at  these  times,  while  standing  with 
his  foot  upon  his  neck,  to  speak  with  Calpurnius,  and  to 
express  his  regrets  and  his  grief  for  his  misfortunes,  and 
promise  redress,  and  more,  if  he  ever  came  to  the  throne. 
But  the  soldier  was  soon  removed  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
royal  palace,  and  saw  no  more  of  either  Valerian  or  Calpur 
nius.  What  came  to  his  ears  was,  generally,  that  while 
Valerian  was  retained  exclusively  for  the  use  of  Sapor, 
Calpurnius  was  after  a  time  relinquished  as  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  Hormisdas,  in  whose  own  palace  he  dwelt,  but 
with  what  portion  of  freedom  he  knew  not.  That  he  was 
living  at  the  time  he  escaped,  he  was  certain.  This,  Grac 
chus,  is  the  sum  of  what  we  have  heard ;  in  addition  only, 
that  the  emperor  sank  under  his  misfortunes,  and  that  his 
skin,  fashioned  over  some  substance  so  as  exactly  to  resem 
ble  the  living  man,  is  preserved  by  Sapor,  as  a  monument 
of  his  triumph  over  the  legions  of  Rome. " 

"  It  is  a  pitiful  story, "  said  Fausta,  as  I  ended :  "  for  a 
brave  man,  it  has  been  a  fate  worse  than  death ;  but  having 
survived  the  first  shame,  I  fear  me  my  father's  thought  will 
prove  a  too  true  one,  and  that  long  absence,  and  indignation 
at  neglect,  and  perhaps  gratitude  and  attachment  to  the 
prince,  who  seems  to  have  protected  him,  will  have  weaned 
him  from  Eome.  So  that  we  cannot  suffer  you,  Lucius,  to 
undertake  so  long  and  dangerous  a  journey  upon  so  doubtful 
an  errand.  But  those  can  be  found,  bold  and  faithful,  who, 
for  that  ample  reward  with  which  you  could  so  easily 
enrich  them,  would  venture  even  into  the  heart  of  Ecbatana 
itself,  and  bring  you  back  your  brother  alive,  or  advertise 
you  of  his  apostasy  or  death. " 

"  What  Fausta  says  is  just, "  observed  Gracchus,  "  and  in 
a  few  words  prescribes  your  course.  It  will  not  be  a  diffi 
cult  thing,  out  of  the  multitudes  of  bold  spirits  who  crowd 
the  capital,  —  Greek,  Roman,  Syrian,  and  Arab,  —  to  find 
one  who  will  do  all  that  you  could  do,  and,  I  may  add,  both 
more  and  better.  You  may  find  those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  route,  who  know  the  customs  of  Persia,  who  can  speak 
its  language,  and  are  even  at  home  in  its  capitals,  and  who 


38  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

would  be  infinitely  more  capable  than  either  you  or  I,  or 
even  Fausta,  to  manage  to  a  happy  issue  an  enterprise  like 
this.  Let  this  then  be  our  decision;  and  be  it  now  our 
united  care  to  find  the  individual  to  whom  we  may  commit 
this  dear  but  perilous  service.  And  now  enough  of  this. 
The  city  sleeps,  and  it  were  better  that  we  slept  with  it. 
But  first,  my  child,  bring  harmony  into  our  spirits  by  one 
of  those  wild,  sad  airs  which  you  are  accustomed  to  sing  to 
me  upon  the  harp  of  the  Jews.  It  will  dispose  Lucius  to 
pleasant  dreams. " 

I  added  my  importunities,  and  Fausta,  rising,  moved  to 
an  open  window,  through  which  the  moon  was  now  pouring 
a  flood  of  silver  light,  and  seating  herself  before  the  instru 
ment  which  stood  there,  first  swept  its  strings  with  an  easy 
and  graceful  hand. 

"  I  wish, "  said  she,  "  I  could  give  you  the  song  which  I 
am  going  to  sing  in  the  language  of  the  Hebrews,  for  it 
agrees  better,  I  think,  with  the  sentiment  and  the  character 
of  the  music  than  the  softer  accents  of  the  Greek.  But 
everything  is  Greek  now.  " 

So  saying,  she  commenced  with  a  prelude  more  sweetly 
and  profoundly  melancholy  than  even  the  wailing  of  the 
night  wind  among  the  leafless  trees  of  the  forest.  This  was 
followed  by  —  an  ode  shall  I  call  it,  or  a  hymn  ?  —  for  it 
was  not  what  we  mean  by  a  song.  Nor  was  the  music  like 
any  other  music  I  had  ever  heard,  but  much  more  full  of 
passion ;  broken,  wild,  plaintive,  triumphant,  by  turns,  it 
stirred  all  the  deepest  feelings  of  the  heart.  It  seemed  to 
be  the  language  of  one  in  captivity,  who,  refusing  to  sing 
one  of  the  songs  of  his  country  for  the  gratification  of  his 
conquerors,  broke  out  into  passionate  strains  of  patriotism, 
in  which  he  exalted  his  desolated  home  to  the  heavens,  and 
prophesied  in  the  boldest  terms  her  ultimate  restoration  to 
power  and  glory.  The  sentiment  lost  nothing  coming  to 
the  ear  clothed  in  the  rich  music  of  Fausta 's  voice,  which 
rose  and  sank,  swelled  and  died  away,  or  was  full  of  tears 
or  joy,  as  agreed  with  the  theme  of  the  poet.  She  was  her 
self  the  poet  and  the  captive  and  the  Jew,  so  wholly  did  she 


FAUSTA'S  HOME.  89 

abandon  herself  to  the  sway  of  the  thoughts  which  she  was 
expressing.  One  idea  alone,  however,  had  possessed  me 
while  she  sang,  to  which,  the  moment  she  paused,  I  first 
gave  utterance.  "  And  think  you,  Tausta, "  said  I,  "  that 
while  the  captive  Jew  remembers  his  country,  the  captive 
Eoman  will  forget  his?  Never!  Calpurnius,  if  he  live, 
lives  a  Eoman.  For  this  I  thank  your  song.  Melancholy 
and  sad  in  itself,  it  has  bred  joy  in  my  soul.  I  shall  now 
sleep  soundly.  "  So  saying  we  separated. 

Thus  was  passed  my  first  evening  in  Palmyra. 


40  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTEK  III. 

ZENOBIA  AND   HER   PEOPLE. 

MORNING    IN    THE    EAST.  —  THE   TEMPLE    OF    THE    SUN.  —  THE 
PORTICO.  —  DEMETRIUS    THE    GOLDSMITH.  —  ZENOBIA.  —  THE 
JEWS'    QUARTER.  —  ISAAC    UNDERTAKES    TO    SEEK    FOR    THE 
LOST  CALPURNILS. 
» 

WITH  what  pleasure  do  I  again  sit  down,  dear  Curtius 
and  Lucilia,  to  tell  you  how  I  have  passed  my  time, 
and  what  I  have  been  able  to  accomplish,  since  I  last  wrote  ; 
thrice  happy  that  I  have  to  report  of  success  rather  than  of 
defeat  in  that  matter  which  I  have  undertaken.  But  first, 
let  me  thank  you  for  all  the  city  gossip  with  which  you  so 
greatly  entertained  me  in  your  joint  epistle.  Although  I 
pass  my  hours  and  days  in  this  beautiful  capital  as  happily 
as  I  could  anywhere  out  of  Rome,  still  my  letters  from 
home  are  a  great  addition  to  ray  enjoyment.  After  rising 
from  the  perusal  of  yours  and  my  mother's,  I  was  a  new 
man.  Let  me  beg  you  —  which,  indeed,  I  need  hardly  do 
—  to  send  each  letter  of  mine,  as  you  receive  it,  to  Portia, 
and  in  return,  receive  and  read  those  which  I  have  written, 
and  shall  continue  to  write,  to  her.  To  you,  I  shall  give  a 
narrative  of  events ;  to  her,  I  shall  pour  out  sentiment  and 
philosophy,  as  in  our  conversation  we  were  wont  to  do.  I 
shall  hope  soon  to  have  somewhat  of  interest  to  say  of  the 
state  of  letters  here,  and  of  my  interviews  with  distin 
guished  men.  So  soon  as  the  queen  shall  return  from  her 
excursion  through  some  of  her  distant  provinces,  I  shall 
call  upon  Gracchus  to  fulfil  his  promise,  and  make  me 
known  to  the  great  Longinus,  now  with  the  queen  absent. 
From  my  intercourse  with  him,  I  shall  look  to  draw  up 
long  and  full  reports  of  much  that  shall  afford  both  enter 
tainment  and  instruction  to  you  all. 


ZENOBIA  AND   HER  PEOPLE.  41 

I  have  now  passed  several  days  in  Palmyra,  and  have  a 
mass  of  things  to  say.  But  instead  of  giving  you  a  confused 
report,  I  shall  separate  one  thing  from  another,  and  set 
down  each  according  to  the  time  and  manner  in  which  it 
happened.  This  is  what  I  know  you  desire,  and  this  is 
what  I  shall  do. 

I  cannot  easily  tell  you  how  delicious  was  my  slumber 
after  that  last  day  of  fatiguing  travel,  and  that  evening  of 
to  me  the  most  exciting  converse.  I  dreamed  that  night  of 
Calpurnius  rescued  and  returned ;  and  ever  as  he  was  pres 
ent  to  my  sleeping  fancy,  the  music  of  Fausta's  harp  and 
voice  was  floating  near. 

Hannibal  was  early  at  my  door  to  warn  me  of  the  hour  of 
the  morning  meal,  Milo  being  still  under  the  influences  of 
the  evening's  potation.  I  was  shown  to  a  different  apart 
ment  from  that  in  which  we  had  supped,  but  opening  into 
it.  It  was  a  portico  rather  than  a  room,  it  being  on  two 
sides  open  to  the  shrubbery,  with  slender  Ionic  pillars  of 
purest  marble  supporting  the  ceiling,  all  joined  together  by 
the  light  interlacings  of  the  most  gorgeous  creeping  plants. 
Their  odours  filled  the  air.  A  fountain  threw  up  in  the 
most  graceful  forms  its  clear  water,  and  spread  all  around 
an  agreeable  coolness.  Standing  at  those  points  where 
flights  of  steps  led  down  to  the  walks  and  plats  of  grass 
and  flowers  which  wound  about  the  palace,  the  eye  wan 
dered  over  the  rich  scene  of  verdure  and  blossom  which 
they  presented,  and  then  rested  —  where  it  can  never  rest 
too  often  nor  too  long  —  upon  the  glittering  shafts  of  the 
Temple  of  the  Sun.  This  morning  prospect,  from  this  sin 
gle  point,  I  thought,  was  reward  enough  for  my  long  voyage 
and  hot  journey  over  the  desert.  It  inspired  more  cheerful 
thoughts  than  the  same  scene  as  I  had  seen  it  in  the  even 
ing  before  from  the  windows  of  my  chamber.  I  could  not 
but  draw  omens  of  good  from  the  universal  smile  that 
beamed  upon  me  from  the  earth  and  the  heavens.  Fausta's 
little  hand  suddenly  placed  within  mine,  and  the  cheerful 
greeting  of  her  voice,  awoke  me  from  my  dreamy  state. 

"  Your   countenance   shows   that   you   have   slept   well, 


42  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Lucius, "  said  she ;  "  it  is  bright  as  the  morning  itself.  Your 
dreams  must  have  been  favourable.  Or  else  is  it  the  won 
der-working  power  of  a  Palmyrene  air  that  has  wrought  so 
with  you  since  the  last  evening  ?  Tell  me,  have  you  not 
slept  as  you  never  slept  in  Eome  ?  " 

"  I  have  slept  well,  indeed, "  I  replied ;  "  but  I  believe  it 
was  owing  rather  to  your  harp  and  Jewish  ode,  than  to  any 
mysterious  qualities  of  the  air.  Your  music  haunted  the 
chambers  of  my  brain  all  night,  and  peopled  them  with  the 
forms  of  those  whom  I  love,  and  whose  memory  it  last  even 
ing  recalled  so  vividly.  Mostly  I  dreamed  of  Calpurnius, 
and  of  his  return  to  Kome ;  and  with  him  came  ever  your 
image  dimly  seen  hovering  around,  and  the  strains  of  your 
voice  and  harp.  These  are  to  me  auguries  of  good,  even  as 
if  the  voice  of  a  god  had  spoken.  I  shall  once  more  em 
brace  a  brother  and,  what  is  even  more,  a  Eoman. " 

"  The  gods  grant  it  may  be  so !  "  replied  Fausta. 

"  A  prayer  which  I  repeat, "  cried  Gracchus,  as  he  ap 
proached  us  from  the  hall  through  which  I  had  just  passed. 
"  I  have  thought  much  of  your  affair  since  I  parted  from 
you  last  evening,  and  am  more  than  ever  persuaded  that  we 
came  to  a  true  decision  touching  the  steps  next  to  be  taken. 
To-day  I  shall  be  much  abroad,  and  shall  not  forget  to 
search  in  every  direction  for  one  who  may  be  intrusted  with 
this  nice  and  difficult  and  withal  dangerous  business.  I 
can  now  think  of  no  messenger  who  bids  so  fair  to  combine 
all  the  qualities  we  most  desire,  as  the  Jew.  I  know  but 
few  of  that  tribe,  and  those  are  among  the  rich.  But  then 
those  rich  are  connected  in  various  ways  with  the  poor, — 
for  to  a  marvellous  extent  they  are  one  people ;  it  is  the 
same,  you  know,  in  Kome, — and  through  them  I  think  I 
may  succeed. " 

"  Now  have  you, "  I  quickly  added,  "  again  poured  light 
into  my  mind.  Half  our  labour  is  over.  I  know  a  Jew 
whose  capacities  could  not  be  more  fitting  for  this  enter 
prise.  I  saw  much  of  him  on  board  the  vessel  which  took 
us  first  to  the  African  coast,  where,  at  Utica,  it  set  him  on 
shore,  bringing  me  farther  on  to  Berytus.  He  is  a  true 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  43 

citizen  of  the  world,  —  knows  all  languages  and  all  people 
and  all  places.  He  has  all  the  shrewdness  of  his  race,  their 
intelligence,  their  enthusiasm,  and,  I  may  add,  their  cour 
age.  He  is  a  traveller  by  profession,  and  a  vendor  of  such 
things  as  any  will  buy,  and  will  go  wherever  he  may  hope 
to  make  large  gains  wherewith  to  do  his  share  toward 
'  building  again  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, '  as  he  calls  it.  He 
has  a  home  in  every  city  of  the  East.  It  was  toward  Pal 
myra  that  he  was  bending  his  way ;  and,  as  I  now  remem 
ber,  promised  that  he  would  see  me  here  not  many  days 
after  I  should  arrive,  and  have  the  pleasure,  as  he  trusted, 
to  sell  me  more  of  his  goods.  For  you  must  be  told  that  I 
did  indeed  traffic  with  him,  however  little  it  became  a 
patrician  of  Eome.  And  here  I  have  about  me,  in  a  little 
casket,  some  rings  which  I  purchased  of  him,  having  upon 
them  heads  of  Zenobia  and  Odenatus,  resembling  the  origi 
nals  to  the  life,  as  he  assured  me  with  much  asseveration. 
See,  Fausta,  here  they  are.  Look,  now,  and  tell  me  if  he 
has  spoken  in  this  instance  the  truth ;  if  so,  it  will  be  a 
ground  for  trusting  him  farther. " 

"  Beautiful !  "  exclaimed  both  Gracchus  and  Fausta.  "  He 
has,  indeed,  dealt  honestly  with  you.  Nothing  can  be  more 
exact  than  these  resemblances,  and  the  workmanship  is 
worthy  the  hand  of  Demetrius  the  Greek. " 

"  Provincials, "  I  said,  "  ever  know  the  capital  and  its 
fashions  better  than  citizens.  Now  never  till  Isaac,  my 
Jew  friend,  rehearsed  to  me  the  praises  of  Demetrius  the 
jeweller,  had  I  ever  heard  his  name,  or  aught  concerning 
his  skill,  and  here,  in  the  heart  of  Asia,  he  seems  a  house 
hold  word. " 

"  It  is  so  indeed, "  said  Gracchus ;  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  the 
fashionable  artists  of  every  kind  in  Eome  are  better  known 
to  the  followers  of  fashion  in  Palmyra  than  they  are  to  the 
patricians  themselves.  Wanting  the  real  greatness  of  Eome, 
we  try  to  surpass  her  in  the  trappings  of  greatness.  We  are 
well  represented  by  the  frog  of  ^Esop, —  happy,  if  our  swel 
ling  pride  do  not  destroy  us.  But  these  rings, —  they  are, 
indeed,  of  exquisite  art.  The  head  of  Odenatus  is  truer  to 
life,  methinks,  than  that  of  the  queen.  " 


44  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  And  how  can  poor  stone  and  gold  set  out  the  divine 
beauty  and  grace  of  Zenobia !  "  cried  Fausta.  "  This  is 
beautiful  to  you  now,  Lucius ;  but  it  will  be  so  no  longer 
when  you  shall  have  seen  her.  Would  that  she  were  here ! 
It  seems  as  if  the  sun  were  gone  from  the  heavens  when 
she  is  absent  from  us  on  these  long  excursions  among  her 
distant  subjects. " 

"  Till  then,  dear  Fausta, "  said  I,  "  deign  to  wear  on  that 
only  finger  which  I  see  ungraced  by  a  ring,  this  head  of 
your  so-much-vaunted  queen;  afterward,  wear  it,  if  you 
will,  not  for  her  sake,  but  for  mine.  " 

So  saying,  upon  her  finger,  which  she  held  out  to  me,  and 
which  how  beautiful  it  was  I  shall  not  say,  I  attempted  to 
pass  the  ring ;  but,  alas !  it  was  too  small,  and  would  not, 
with  all  the  gentle  force  I  dared  to  use,  go  on. 

"  Here  is  an  omen,  Fausta, "  said  I ;  "  the  queen  cannot 
be  forced  upon  your  hand.  I  fear  your  friendship  is 
threatened. " 

"  Oh,  never  entertain  any  such  apprehension !  "  inter 
rupted  Fausta ;  "  it  is  quite  needless.  Here  is  plenty  of 
room  on  this  neighbour  finger.  It  is  quite  right  that 
Aurelian,  you  know,  should  give  way  to  Zenobia :  so,  away 
with  the  emperor !  "  and  she  snapped  the  ring  across  the 
pavement  of  the  portico ;  "  and  now,  Lucius,  invest  me  with 
that  burning  beauty. " 

"  And  now,  do  you  think  you  deserve  it  ?  I  marvel, 
Gracchus,  at  the  boldness  of  these  little  girls.  Verily  they 
bid  fair  to  mount  up  over  our  heads.  But  come,  your  finger ; 
there,  —  one  cannot  but  say  that  it  becomes  you  better  than 
the  fierce  Aurelian.  As  for  the  deposed  emperor,  he  is 
henceforward  mine.  Thus  I  reinstate  him. "  In  saying 
which  I  picked  up  the  discarded  ring,  and  gave  to  it  the 
most  honoured  place  upon  my  right  hand. 

Fausta  now,  first  laughingly  bidding  me  welcome  to  the 
ring,  called  us  to  the  table,  where  the  breakfast,  consisting 
of  fruits  in  greater  proportion  than  with  us,  awaited  us. 
Much  talk  now  ensued  concerning  the  city,  its  growth,  and 
numbers,  power,  and  probable  destiny.  I  was  satisfied, 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  45 

from  what  fell  from  each,  that  the  most  ambitious  designs 
are  entertained  by  both  the  court  and  people,  and  that  their 
wonderful  successes  have  bred  in  them  a  real  belief  that 
they  should  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  valour  or  power 
of  Eome  under  any  circumstances  of  collision.  When  this 
was  through,  Gracchus,  rising  from  his  seat,  and  pacing 
slowly  up  and  down  the  portico,  spoke  of  my  private  affairs, 
and,  with  great  kindness,  went  over  again  the  whole  ground. 
The  result  was  the  same. 

"  Our  way,  then, "  he  said,  "  is  clear.  Wait  a  few  days 
for  your  fellow-traveller,  Isaac.  If  he  appears,  well ;  if  not, 
we  must  then  search  the  quarter  of  the  Jews  for  one  who 
may  do  as  good  service,  perhaps.  I  now  leave  you,  with  a 
suggestion  to  Fausta  that  she  should  take  it  upon  her  to 
drive  you  round  the  city,  and  into  the  suburbs.  No  one  can 
perform  the  office  of  a  guide  better  than  she.  " 

"  If  Fausta  will  take  that  trouble  upon  her, "  I  replied, 
"  it  will  give  me  —  " 

"  '  A  great  deal  of  pleasure, '  you  were  going  to  say ;  so 
it  will  me.  I  am  sure  we  shall  enjoy  it.  If  I  love  any 
thing,  it  is  to  reveal  to  a  proud  Eoman  the  glories  of  Pal 
myra.  Take  away  from  a  Eoman  that  ineffable  air  which 
says,  '  Behold,  embodied  in  me,  the  majesty  of  Eome ! '  and 
there  remains  a  very  agreeable  person.  But,  for  those 
qualities  of  mind  and  manners  which  fit  men  and  women 
for  society,  the  Eoman  men  and  women  must  yield  to  the 
Palmyrenes.  So  I  think,  who  have  seen  somewhat  of  both, 
and  so  think  —  gainsay  my  authorities,  if  you  have  the 
courage  —  Longinus  and  the  Bishop  of  Antioch.  I  see  that 
you  are  disturbed.  No  wonder.  Longinus,  though  a  phi 
losopher,  is  a  man  of  the  world  who  sees  through  its  ways 
as  clearly  as  he  does  through  the  mysticism  of  Plato,  and 
that  asks  for  good  eyes;  and  for  the  bishop, — there  is  not 
so  finished  a  gentleman  in  all  the  East.  His  appointments 
are  not  less  exquisite  than  those  of  the  highest  noble,  either 
of  Antioch  or  Palmyra.  If  an  umpire  in  any  question  of 
manners  were  to  be  chosen,  it  would  be  he.  " 

"  As  for  the  Greek, "  I  rejoined,  "  I  dm  predispcsad  to 


46  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

admit  his  superior  claims.  I  will  surrender  to  him  with 
alacrity  my  doubts  both  in  manners  and  philosophy.  For 
I  hold  there  is  a  philosophy  in  manners,  nay,  even  in 
clothes,  and  that  the  highest-bred  intellect  will,  on  that 
very  account,  best  perceive  the  nice  distinctions  and  rela 
tions,  in  the  exact  perception  and  observation  of  which  the 
highest  manners  consist.  Such  an  one  may  offend  against 
the  last  device  in  costume,  and  the  last  refinement  in  the 
recondite  art  of  a  bow ;  but  he  will  eternally  excel  in  all 
that  we  mean  by  breeding.  Your  bishop  I  know  nothing 
of,  but  your  account  of  him  strikes  me  not  very  agreeably. 
These  Christian  bishops,  methinks,  are  taking  upon  them 
selves  too  much.  And,  besides,  if  what  I  gathered  of  the 
theory  of  their  religion  from  a  passenger  on  board  the  Medi 
terranean  trader  be  correct,  they  depart  greatly  from  the 
severity  of  their  principles,  when  they  so  addict  themselves 
to  the  practices  of  courts,  and  of  the  rich.  I  received  from 
this  Christian  a  beautiful  idea  of  his  faith ;  and  only  la 
mented  that  our  companionship  was  broken  off  before  I  had 
time  fully  to  comprehend  all  he  had  to  say.  The  character 
of  this  man,  and  his  very  countenance,  seemed  as  arguments 
to  support  the  strict  opinions  which  he  advanced.  This 
bishop,  I  think,  can  scarcely  do  his  faith  the  same  service. " 

"  I  know  him  not  much, "  said  Fausta,  "  and  of  his  faith, 
nothing.  He  has  great  power  over  the  Princess  Julia,  and 
it  would  not  much  amaze  me  if,  by-and-by,  she  declared 
herself  a  Christian.  It  is  incredible  how  that  superstition 
spreads.  But  here  is  our  carriage.  Come,  let  us  forth.  " 

So,  breaking  off  our  talk,  we  betook  ourselves  to  the  car 
riage.  How  shall  I  find  language,  my  Curtius,  to  set  before 
you,  with  the  vividness  of  the  reality,  or  with  any  approach 
to  it,  the  pictures  which  this  drive  through  and  around 
Palmyra  caused  to  pass  successively  before  me  ?  You  know, 
indeed,  generally,  what  the  city  is  from  the  reports  of  for 
mer  travellers,  especially  from  the  late  book  of  Spurius, 
about  which,  and  its  speculations,  much  was  said  a  little 
while  since.  But,  let  me  tell  you,  a  more  one-sided,  one- 
eyed,  malignant  observer  never  thrust  himself  upon  the 


ZENOBIA  AND   HER  PEOPLE.  47 

hospitalities  of  a  free,  open-hearted  people,  than  that  same 
Spurius,  poet  and  bibliopole.  His  very  name  is  an  offence 
to  the  Palmyrenes,  who,  whatever  national  faults  they  may 
have,  do  not  deserve  the  deep  disgrace  of  being  brought  be 
fore  the  world  in  the  pages  of  so  poor  a  thing  as  the  said 
Ventidius  Spurius.  Though  it  will  not  be  my  province  to 
treat,  as  an  author,  of  the  condition,  policy,  and  prospects 
of  Palmyra,  yet,  to  you  and  my  friends,  I  shall  lay  myself 
open  with  the  utmost  freedom,  and  shall  refrain  from  no 
statement  or  opinion  that  shall  possess,  or  seem  to  do  so, 
truth  or  importance. 

The  horses,  springing  from  under  the  whip  of  the  chario 
teer,  soon  bore  us  from  the  great  entrance  of  the  palace  into 
the  midst  of  the  throng  that  crowded  the  streets.  The 
streets,  seen  now  under  the  advantages  of  a  warm  morning 
sun,  adding  a  beauty  of  its  own  to  whatever  it  glanced 
upon,  showed  much  more  brilliantly  than  ours  of  Eome. 
There  is,  in  the  first  place,  a  more  general  sumptuousness 
in  equipage  and  dress,  very  striking  to  the  eye  of  a  Roman. 
Not,  perhaps,  that  more  wealth  is  displayed,  but  the  forms 
and  colours  through  which  it  displays  itself,  are  more  va 
rious,  more  tasteful,  more  gorgeous.  Nothing  can  exceed, 
nothing  equals,  it  is  said,  anywhere  in  the  world,  the  state 
>f  the  queen  and  her  court ;  and  this  infects,  if  I  may  use 
so  hard  a  word,  the  whole  city.  So  that,  though  with  far 
less  real,  substantial  riches  than  we  have,  their  extrava 
gance  and  luxury  are  equal,  and  their  taste  far  before  us. 
Then,  everything  wears  a  newer,  fresher  look  than  in  Rome. 
The  buildings  of  the  republic*  which  many  are  so  desirous 
to  preserve,  and  whole  streets  even,  of  ante -Augustan  archi 
tecture,  tend  to  spread  around  here  and  there  in  Rome  a 
gloom,  —  to  me,  full  of  beauty  and  poetry ;  but,  still  gloom. 
Here,  all  is  bright  and  gay.  The  buildings  of  marble ;  the 
streets  paved  and  clean  ;  frequent  fountains  of  water  throw 
ing  up  their  foaming  jets,  and  shedding  a  delicious  cool 
ness;  temples;  and  palaces  of  the  nobles,  or  of  wealthy 
Palmyrene  merchants,  —  altogether  present  a  more  brilliant 
assemblage  of  objects  than,  I  suppose,  any  other  city  can 


48  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

boast.  Then  conceive,  poured  through  these  long  lines  of 
beautiful  edifices,  among  these  temples  and  fountains,  a 
population  drawn  from  every  country  of  the  far  East, 
arrayed  in  every  variety  of  the  most  showy  and  fanciful 
costume,  with  the  singular  animals,  rarely  seen  in  our 
streets,  but  here  met  at  every  turn,  —  elephants,  camels, 
and  dromedaries,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Arabian  horses 
with  their  jewelled  housings,  with  every  now  and  then  a 
troop  of  the  queen's  cavalry  moving  along  to  the  sound  of 
their  clanging  trumpets,  —  conceive,  I  say,  this  ceaseless 
tide  of  various  animal  life  poured  along  among  the  proud 
piles,  and  choking  the  ways,  and  you  will  have  some  faint 
glimpses  of  the  strange  and  imposing  reality. 

Fausta  was  in  raptures  at  my  transports,  and  in  her 
pleasant  but  deep-meaning  way,  boasted  much  over  the 
great  capital  of  the  world.  So  we  rode  along  slowly,  be 
cause  of  the  crowded  state  of  the  streets,  and  on  account  of 
my  desire  to  observe  the  manners  and  ways  of  the  people, 
their  shops,  which  glittered  with  every  rare  work  of  art, 
and  the  devices,  so  similar  in  all  places  of  trade,  by  which 
the  seller  attracts  the  buyer.  I  was  engrossed  by  objects 
of  this  sort,  when  Fausta 's  voice  drew  my  attention  another 
way. 

"  Now, "  said  she,  "  prepare  yourself  for  the  glory  of  Pal 
myra  ;  look,  when  we  shall  suddenly  turn  round  the  next 
corner  on  the  left,  and  see  what  you  shall  see.  * 

The  chariot  soon  whirled  round  the  indicated  corner,  and 
we  found  ourselves  in  full  view  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun, 
so  famous  throughout  the  world.  Upon  a  vast  platform 
of  marble,  itself  decorated  with  endless  lines  of  columns, 
elsewhere  of  beauty  and  size  sufficient  for  the  principal 
building,  but  here  a  mere  appendage,  stood,  in  solitary 
magnificence,  this  peerless  work  of  art.  All  I  could  do 
was  —  and  the  act  was  involuntary  —  to  call  upon  the  chario 
teer  to  rein  up  his  horses,  and  let  me  quietly  gaze.  In 
this  Fausta,  nothing  unwilling,  indulged  me.  Then,  when 
satisfied  with  this,  the  first  point  of  view,  we  wound  slowly 
around  the  spacious  square  upon  which  it  stands,  observ- 


COLONNADE  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SUN. 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.        •  '  49 

ing  it  well  in  all  directions,  and  taking  my  fill  of  that  ex 
alted  but  nameless  pleasure  which  flows  in  upon  the  soul 
from  the  contemplation  of  perfect  excellence. 

"  This  is,  if  I  err  not,  Fausta,  the  work  of  a  Greek  artist  ?  " 

"  It  is, "  said  she ;  "  here,  both  Eomans  and  Palmyrenes 
must  acknowledge  their  inferiority,  and,  indeed,  all  other 
people.  In  every  city  of  the  world,  I  believe,  all  the  great 
works  of  art  are  the  offspring  of  Grecian  genius  and  Grecian 
taste.  Truly,  a  wonderful  people !  In  this  very  city,  our 
artists,  our  men  of  letters,  even  the  first  minister  of  state, 
all  are  Greeks.  But  come,  let  us  move  on  to  the  Long 
Portico,  an  edifice  which-  will  astonish  you  yet  more  than 
even  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  through  your  having  heard  of 
it  so  much  less.  We  shall  reach  it  in  about  half  a  Koman 
mile.  n 

This  space  was  soon  passed,  and  the  Portico  stood  re 
vealed,  with  its  interminable  ranges  of  Corinthian  columns, 
and  the  busy  multitudes  winding  among  them,  and  pursu 
ing  their  various  avocations,  for  which  this  building  offers 
a  common  and  convenient  ground.  Here  the  merchants 
assemble  and  meet  each  other.  Here  various  articles  of 
more  than  common  rarity  are  brought  and  exhibited  for  sale. 
Here  the  mountebanks  resort,  and  entertain  the  idle  and 
lovers  of  amusement  with  their  fantastic  tricks.  And  here 
strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  world  may  be  seen  walking 
to  and  fro,  observing  the  customs  of  the  place,  and  regaling 
themselves  at  the  brilliant  rooms,  furnished  with  every 
luxury,  which  are  opened  for  their  use,  or  else  at  the  pub 
lic  baths  which  are  found  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
The  Portico  does  not,  like  the  Temple,  stand  upon  an  ele 
vated  platform,  but  more  upon  a  level  with  the  streets.  Its 
greatness  is  derived  from  its  extreme  length,  and  its  ex 
quisitely  perfect  designs  and  workmanship,  as  seen  in  the 
graceful  fluted  columns  and  the  rich  entablature  running 
round  the  whole.  The  life  and  achievements  of  Alexander 
are  sculptured  upon  the  frieze,  the  artist,  a  Greek  also, 
having  been  allowed  to  choose  his  own  theme. 

"  Fausta, "  said  I,  "  my  soul  is  steeped  in  beauty.     It  will 

4 


50  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

be  to  no  purpose  to  show  me  more  now.  I  am  like  one  who 
has  eaten  too  much,  —  forgive  the  figure,  —  delicacies  are  lost 
upon  him. " 

"  I  cannot  release  you  yet, "  cried  Fausta ;  "  a  little  far 
ther  on,  and  you  may  see  the  palace  of  our  great  queen ; 
give  me  your  patience  to  that  point,  and  I  will  then  relieve 
you  by  a  little  excursion  through  the  suburbs,  where  your 
eye  may  repose  upon  a  rural  beauty  as  satisfying  as  this  of 
the  city.  You  must  see  the  palace.  There !  we  are  already 
in  sight  of  it.  " 

It  rose  upon  us,  so  vast  is  it,  and  of  so  many  parts,  like 
a  city  within  a  city.  A  tit  dwelling  for  so  great,  so  good, 
and  so  beautiful  a  woman.  Of  this  you  will  find  a  careful 
and  true  account,  with  drawings,  which  greatly  help  the 
imagination,  in  the  otherwise  vile  book  of  the  traducer 
Spurius.  To  that  I  refer  you,  and  so  refrain  from  all 
description. 

We  now  left  the  city,  and  wound  at  our  leisure  among 
the  shady  avenues,  the  noble  country  retreats,  the  public 
gardens,  the  groves  and  woods  which  encompass  the  walls, 
and  stretch  away  far  beyond  the  sight,  into  the  interior. 
Eeturning,  we  passed  through  the  arches  of  the  vast  aque 
duct  which  pours  into  the  city  a  river  of  the  purest  water. 
This  is  the  most  striking  object,  and  noblest  work  of  art, 
without  the  walls. 

When  we  had  passed  in  this  way  nearly  the  whole  day, 
we  at  length  re-entered  the  city  by  the  Persian  gate,  on  the 
eastern  side. 

"  Now,  Fausta, "  said  I,  "  having  given  so  much  of  the 
day  to  pleasure,  I  must  give  the  rest,  not  to  pain,  but  to 
duty.  I  will  seek  out  and  find,  if  I  can,  Demetrius,  brother 
to  Demetrius  of  Eome.  From  him  I  can  learn,  it  seems 
probable,  concerning  the  movements  of  Isaac.  " 

"  You  will  find  the  shop  of  Demetrius  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  city,  midway  between  the  Persian  and  Roman  gates. 
Farewell  for  a  time,  and  may  the  gods  prosper  you !  " 

I  was  not  long  in  making  my  way  to  the  shop  of  the 
Greek.  I  found  the  skilful  Demetrius  busily  engaged  in 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  51 

putting  the  last  polish  upon  a  small  silver  statue  of  a  flying 
Mercury.  He  looked  up  as  I  entered,  and  saluting  me  in 
Greek,  invited  me  to  look  at  his  works.  I  could  not  for  a 
long  time  take  off  my  eyes  from  the  figure  upon  which  he 
was  working,  and  expressed  my  admiration. 

"  Ah,  it  is  very  well,  I  think, "  said  he,  "  but  it  is  noth 
ing  compared  with  the  work  of  my  brother  at  Rome.  You 
know  him  ? " 

"  Indeed  I  do  not,  I  am  obliged  to  say. " 

"  What !  —  a  Roman,  as  I  perceive,  and  a  patrician  also, 
and  not  know  Demetrius  the  goldsmith,  — he  who  was  the 
favourite  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus  and  Claudius  and 
now  of  Aurelian  ?  There  is  no  hand  like  that  of  Deme 
trius  the  elder.  These,  sir,  are  mere  scratches  to  his  di 
vine  touch.  Those  are  dolls  compared  with  the  living 
and  breathing  gold  as  it  leaves  his  chisel.  Sir,  it  is  say 
ing  nothing  beyond  belief,  when  I  say  that  many  a  statue 
like  this,  of  his,  is  worth  more  than  many  a  living  form 
that  we  see  in  and  out  of  the  shop.  Forgive  me,  but  I 
must  say  I  would  rather  possess  one  of  his  images  of  Venus 
or  Apollo,  than  a  live  Roman,  —  though  he  be  a  patrician 
too." 

"  You  are  complimentary, "  I  said,  "  but  I  can  believe  you. 
When  I  return  to  Rome  I  shall  seek  out  your  brother,  and 
make  myself  acquainted  with  his  genius.  I  have  hereto 
fore  heard  of  him  chiefly  through  a  travelling  Jew  whom 
I  fell  in  with  on  the  way  hither,  —  Isaac,  as  he  is  called. " 

"  Ah  ha !  —  Isaac  of  Rome.  I  know  him  well, "  he  re 
plied.  "  He  is  a  good  man,  — that  is,  he  is  good  for  one 
of  that  tribe.  I  look  for  him  every  day.  A  letter  from 
Rome  informs  me  that  he  is  on  his  way.  It  is  a  pleasing 
thing  to  see  Isaac.  I  wonder  what  curiosities  he  brings 
from  the  hand  of  my  brother.  He  will  be  welcome.  I 
trust  he  brings  some  heads  of  our  late  king  and  present 
queen,  from  drawings  which  I  made  and  transmitted  I 
am  impatient  to  see  them.  Saw  you  anything  of  this  sort 
about  him  ? " 

"  Truly  I  did,  and  if  by  some  ill  chance  I  have  not  left 


52  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYKA. 

them  behind  me,  in  my  preparations  for  a  morning  excur 
sion,  I  can  show  you  what  you  will  like  to  see.  Ah,  here 
it  is ;  in  this  small  casket  I  have,  I  presume,  unless  Isaac 
shall  have  deceived  me  —  but  of  which  you  will  be  perfect 
judge  —  some  of  your  brother's  art.  Look,  here  are  rings, 
with  heads  of  your  king  and  queen,  such  as  you  have  just 
spoken  of.  Are  they  genuine  ?  " 

"  No  instrument  but  that  which  is  guided  by  the  hand 
of  the  elder  Demetrius  ever  did  this  work, "  said  he,  slowly 
drawing  out  his  words,  as  he  closely  scrutinized  the  ring. 
"  The  gold  embossment  might  indeed  have  been  done  by 
another ;  but  not  these  heads,  so  true  to  the  life,  and  of  an 
art  so  far  beyond  any  ability  of  mine  that  I  am  tempted 
sometimes  to  think  that  he  is  in  league  with  Vulcan. 
Gods !  how  that  mouth  of  the  queen  speaks !  Do  we  not 
hear  it  ?  Ah,  Eoman,  give  me  the  skill  of  Demetrius  the 
elder,  and  I  would  spit  upon  all  the  power  of  Aurelian. " 

"  You  Greeks  are  a  singular  people.  I  believe  that  the 
idea  of  beauty  is  to  you  food  and  clothing  and  shelter  and 
drink,  more  than  all  riches  and  all  power ;  dying  on  a  des 
ert  island,  a  fragment  of  Phidias  would  be  dearer  to  you 
than  a  cargo  of  food.  " 

"  That 's  a  pretty  conceit  enough, "  said  he,  "  and  some 
thing  near  the  truth,  as  must  be  confessed.  " 

As  we  were  thus  idly  discoursing,  we  became  suddenly 
conscious  of  an  unusual  commotion  in  the  street.  The 
populace  began  to  move  quickly  by  in  crowds,  and  vehicles 
of  all  sorts  came  pouring  along  as  if  in  expectation  of 
something  they  were  eager  to  see. 

"  What  's  all  this  ?  —  what  's  all  this  ?  "  said  Demetrius, 
leaving  his  work,  which  he  had  resumed,  and  running  to 
the  door  of  his  shop :  "  What 's  the  matter,  friend  ?  "  ad 
dressing  a  citizen  hurrying  by ;  "  is  Aurelian  at  the  gatesfc 
that  you  are  posting  along  in  such  confusion  ?  " 

"  Not  Aurelian,"  replied  the  other,  "  but  Aurelian 's  mis 
tress.  The  queen  is  coming.  Clouds  of  dust  on  the  skirts 
of  the  plain  show  that  she  is  advancing  toward  the  city. " 

a  Now,  Roman,  if  thou  wouldst  see  a  oighc,  be  advised. 


ZEXOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  53 

and  follow  me.  We  will  mount  the  roof  of  yonder  market  • 
whence  we  shall  win  a  prospect  such  as  no  eye  can  have 
seen  that  has  not  gazed  from  the  same  point.  It  is  where  I 
go  to  refresh  my  dulled  senses  after  the  day's  hard  toil. " 

So  saying,  and  pausing  a  moment  only  to  give  some 
necessary  directions  to  the  pupils  who  were  stationed  at 
their  tasks  throughout  the  long  apartment,  telling  them  to 
wait  for  the  show  till  it  should  pass  by  the  shop,  and  not 
think  to  imitate  their  master  in  all  his  ways, —  saying 
these  things  in  a  half  earnest  and  half  playful  manner,  we 
crossed  the  street,  and  soon  reached  the  level  roof,  well 
protected  by  a  marble  breastwork,  of  the  building  he  had 
pointed  out. 

"  We  are  here  just  at  the  right  moment, "  said  he ;  "  come 
quickly  to  this  corner  and  secure  a  seat,  for  you  see  the 
people  are  already  thronging  after  us.  There,  can  Elysium 
offer  a  more  perfect  scene  ?  And  look,  how  inspiring  is  the 
view  of  these  two  multitudes  moving  toward  each  other  in 
the  spirit  of  friendship !  How  the  city  opens  her  arms  to 
embrace  her  queen !  " 

At  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  the  walls,  we  now 
saw  the  party  of  the  queen  escorted  by  a  large  body  of 
horse;  and  approaching  them  from  the  city,  apparently 
its  whole  population,  some  on  foot,  some  on  horse,  some  in 
carriages  of  every  description.  The  plain  was  filled  with 
life.  The  sun  shooting  his  beams  over  the  whole,  and  re 
flected  from  the  spears  and  corslets  of  the  cavalry,  and.  the 
gilding  and  polished  work  of  chariots  and  harness,  caused 
the  scene  to  sparkle  as  if  strewed  with  diamonds.  It  was 
a  fair  sight.  But  fairer  than  all  was  it  to  witness,  as  I  did, 
the  hearty  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  and  even  of  the  chil 
dren,  toward  their  lovely  queen.  Tears  of  joy,  even,  I 
could  see  falling  from  many  eyes,  that  she  was  returning  to 
them  again.  As  soon  as  the  near  approach  of  Zenobia  to 
the  walls  began  to  conceal  her  and  her  escort,  then  we  again 
changed  our  position,  and  returned  to  the  steps  of  the  shop 
of  Demetrius,  as  the  queen  would  pass  directly  by  them,  on 
her  way  to  the  palace. 


54  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

We  had  been  here  not  many  minutes,  before  the  shouts  of 
the  people,  and  the  braying  of  martial  music,  and  the  con 
fused  sound  of  an  approaching  multitude,  showed  that  the 
queen  was  near.  Troops  of  horse,  variously  caparisoned, 
each  more  brilliantly,  as  it  seemed,  than  another,  preceded 
a  train  of  sumptuary  elephants  and  camels,  these,  too,  richly 
dressed,  but  heavily  loaded.  Then  came  the  body-guard  of 
the  queen,  in  armour  of  complete  steel;  and  then  the 
chariot  of  Zenobia,  drawn  by  milk-white  Arabians.  So 
soon  as  she  appeared,  the  air  resounded  with  the  acclama 
tions  of  the  countless  multitudes.  Every  cry  of  loyalty  and 
affection  was  heard  from  ten  thousand  mouths,  making  a 
music  such  as  filled  the  heart  almost  to  breaking.  "  Long 
live  the  great  Zenobia !  "  went  up  to  the  heavens.  "  The 
blessing  of  all  the  gods  on  our  good  queen !  "  "  Health  and 
happiness  to  the  mother  of  her  people !  "  "  Death  and  de 
struction  to  her  enemies !  "  —  these,  and  cries  of  the  same 
kind,  came  from  the  people,  not  as  a  mere  lip-service,  but 
evidently,  from  the  tone  in  which  they  were  uttered, 
prompted  by  real  sentiments  of  love,  such  as  it  seems  to 
me  never  before  can  have  existed  toward  a  supreme  and 
absolute  prince. 

It  was  to  me  a  moment  inexpressibly  interesting.  I  could 
not  have  asked  for  more,  than  for  the  first  time  to  see  this 
great  woman  just  as  I  now  saw  her.  I  cannot  at  this  time 
even  speak  of  her  beauty,  and  the  imposing  yet  sweet  dignity 
of  her  manner ;  for  it  was  with  me,  as  I  suppose  it  was  with 
all, —  the  diviner  beauty  of  the  emotions  and  sentiments 
which  were  working  at  her  heart  and  shone  out  in  the  ex 
pressive  language  of  her  countenance,  took  away  all  power 
of  narrowly  scanning  complexion,  feature,  and  form.  Her 
look  was  full  of  love  for  her  people.  She  regarded  them  as 
if  they  were  her  children.  She  bent  herself  fondly  toward 
them  as  if  nothing  but  the  restraints  of  form  withheld  her 
from  throwing  herself  into  their  arms.  This  was  the  beauty 
which  filled  and  agitated  me.  I  was  more  than  satisfied. 

"  And  who,  *  said  I  to  Demetrius,  "  is  the  beautiful  being, 
but  of  a  sad  and  thoughtful  countenance,  who  sits  at  the 
side  of  the  queen  ?  * 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  55 

"  That, "  he  replied,  "  is  the  Princess  Julia,  a  true  de 
scendant  of  her  great  mother ;  and  the  gods  grant  that  she, 
rather  than  either  of  her  brothers,  may  succeed  to  the 
sovereign  power. " 

"  She  looks,  indeed, "  said  I,  "  worthy  to  reign  —  over 
hearts  at  least,  if  not  over  nations.  Those  in  the  next 
chariot  are,  I  suppose,  the  young  Caesars,  as  I  hear  they  are 
called, —  about  as  promising,  to  judge  by  the  form  and  face, 
as  some  of  our  Eoman  brood  of  the  same  name.  I  need  not 
ask  whose  head  that  is  in  the  carriage  next  succeeding ;  it 
can  belong  to  no  other  in  Palmyra  than  the  great  Longinus. 
What  a  divine  repose  breathes  over  that  noble  countenance ! 
What  a  clear  and  far-sighted  spirit  looks  out  of  those  eyes ! 
But  —  gods  of  Eome  and  of  the  world !  —  who  sits  beside 
him!  Whose  dark  soul  is  lodged  in  that  fearful  tene 
ment, —  fearful  and  yet  beautiful,  as  would  be  a  statue  of 
ebony  ?  " 

"  Know  you  not  him  ?  Know  you  not  the  Egyptian 
Zabdas, —  the  mirror  of  accomplished  knighthood,  the 
pillar  of  the  state,  the  Aurelian  of  the  East?  Ah,  far 
may  you  go  to  find  two  such  men  as  those,  of  gifts  so  di 
verse  and  power  so  great,  sitting  together  like  brothers. 
It  all  shows  the  greater  power  of  Zenobia,  who  can  tame 
the  roughest  and  most  ambitious  spirits  to  her  uses.  Who 
is  like  Zenobia  ?  " 

"  So  ends,  it  seems  to  me, "  I  replied,  "  every  sentence  of 
every  Palmyrene, —  '  Who  is  like  Zenobia  ? ' 

"  Well,  Eoman, "  said  he,  "  it  is  a  good  ending ;  may  there 
never  be  a  worse.  Happy  were  it  for  mankind  if  kings  and 
queens  were  all  like  her.  She  rules  to  make  others  happy, 
not  to  rule.  She  conceives  herself  to  be  an  instrument 
of  government,  not  its  end.  Many  is  the  time  that,  stand 
ing  in  her  private  closet,  with  my  cases  of  rare  jewels,  or 
with  some  pretty  fancy  of  mine  in  the  way  of  statue  or 
vase,  I  have  heard  the  wisdom  of  Aristotle  dropping  in  the 
honey  of  Plato's  Greek  from  her  divine  lips. " 

"  You  are  all  going  mad  with  love, "  said  I ;  "  I  begin  to 
tremble  for  myself  as  a  Eoman.  I  must  depart  while  I  am 


56  ZEXOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

yet  safe.  But  see !  the  crowd  and  the  show  are  vanished. 
Let  me  hear  of  the  earliest  return  of  Isaac,  and  the  gods 
prosper  you !  I  am  at  the  house  of  Gracchus,  opposite  the 
Temple  of  Justice. " 

I  found,  on  reaching  the  palace,  Fausta  and  Gracchus  over 
joyed  at  the  safe  and  happy  return  of  the  queen.  Fausta, 
too,  as  the  queen  was  passing  by,  she  standing  by  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  great  entrance,  had  obtained  a  smile  of  recog 
nition  and  a  wave  of  the  hand  from  her  great  friend,  as  I 
may  justly  term  her,  and  nothing  could  exceed  the  spirits 
she  was  in. 

"  How  glad  I  am,  Lucius, "  said  she,  "  that  you  have  seen 
her  so  soon,  and  more  than  all,  that  you  saw  her  just  as  you 
did,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  people.  I  do  not  believe  you 
ever  saw  Aurelian  so  received  in  Rome, —  Claudius,  perhaps, 
but  not  again  Gallienus,  or  his  severe  but  weak  father. 
But  what  have  you  done, —  which  is  to  all  of  us  a  more 
immediately  interesting  subject, —  what  have  you  done  for 
Calpurnius  ?  Did  you  learn  anything  of  Isaac  ?  " 

"  I  have  the  best  news, "  I  replied,  "  possible  in  the  case. 
Isaac  will  be  in  Palmyra  —  perhaps  this  very  night,  but 
certainly  within  a  few  days,  if  the  gods  spare  his  life. 
Demetrius  is  to  give  me  the  earliest  intelligence  of  his 
arrival. " 

"  Now  then  let  us, "  said  Fausta,  "  to  the  table,  which 
need  not  offer  the  delicacies  of  Vitellius  to  insure  a  favour 
able  reception  from  appetites  sharpened  as  ours  have  been 
by  the  day's  motion  and  excitement. " 

Gracchus,  throwing  down  a  manuscript  he  had  been 
attentively  perusing,  now  joined  us. 

Leaving  untold  all  the  good  things  which  were  said, 
especially  by  Gracchus,  while  I  and  Fausta,  more  terres 
trially  given,  applied  ourselves  to  the  agreeable  task  set 
before  us,  I  hasten  to  tell  you  of  my  interview  with  the 
Jew,  and  of  its  issue.  For  no  sooner  had  evening  set  in, 
and  Fausta,  seated  at  her  harp,  was  again  soothing  the  soul 
with  her  sweet  and  wild  strains,  than  a  messenger  was  an 
nounced  from  the  Greek  Demetrius,  desiring  to  have  com- 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  57 

munication  with  me.  Divining  at  once  his  errand,  I  sought 
him  in  the  ante-room,  where,  learning  from  him  that  Isaac 
was  arrived,  and  that,  if  I  would  see  him,  I  must  seek  him 
on  the  moment,  as  he  was  but  for  one  night  in  the  city, 
intending  in  the  morning  to  start  for  Ctesiphon,  I  bade 
him  lead  on,  and  I  would  follow,  first  calling  Milo  to 
accompany  me. 

"  To  what  part  of  the  city  do  we  go  ?  "  said  I,  addressing 
the  messenger  of  Demetrius. 

"  To  the  quarter  of  the  Jews,  near  the  Gate  of  the  Des 
ert,  "  he  replied.  "  Be  not  apprehensive  of  danger, "  he 
added ;  "  the  city  is  as  safe  by  night  as  by  day.  This  we 
owe  to  the  great  queen.  " 

"  Take  me  where  thou  wilt,  I  fear  nothing, "  said  I. 

"  But  methinks,  master  mine, "  said  Milo,  "  seeing  that 
we  know  not  the  ways  of  this  outlandish  capital,  nor  even 
who  this  doubtless  respectable  person  is  who  invites  us  to 
this  enterprise,  it  were  more  discreet  to  add  Hannibal  to 
our  numbers.  Permit  me,  and  I  will  invoke  the  presence 
of  the  Ethiopian. " 

"  No,  Milo, "  I  replied  ;  "  in  thy  valour  I  am  ready  to  put 
my  trust.  Thy  courage  is  tried  courage,  and,  if  need  be,  I 
doubt  not  thou  wilt  not  hesitate  to  die  sword  in  hand.  " 

"  Such  sort  of  confidence  I  do  by  no  means  covet ;  I  would 
rather  that  thou  shouldst  place  it  somewhere  else.  It  is 
true,  that  when  I  was  in  the  service  of  the  most  noble 
Gallienus  —  " 

"  Well,  we  will  spare  thee  the  trouble  of  that  story.  I 
believe  I  do  thy  virtues  no  injustice.  Moreover,  the  less 
talk  the  more  speed.  " 

Saying  this,  in  order  that  I  might  be  left  to  my  own 
thoughts  for  a  space,  before  I  should  meet  the  Jew,  we  then 
pressed  on,  threading  our  way  through  a  maze  of  streets, 
where  recollection  of  place  and  of  compass  was  soon  and 
altogether  lost.  The  streets  now  became  narrow,  filthy, 
darker  and  darker,  crooked  and  involved.  They  were  still 
noisy  with  the  loud  voices  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  dwell 
ings,  calling  to  each  other,  quarrelling  or  laughing,  with  that 


58  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

rattling  of  vehicles  returning  home  after  the  labours  of  the 
day,  and  with  all  the  variety  of  deafening  sounds  which 
fall  upon  the  ear  where  great  numbers  of  a  poor  and 
degraded  population  are  crowded  together  into  confined 
quarters.  Suddenly  leaving  what  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of 
principal  street,  our  guide  turned  round  into  an  obscure 
lane,  and  which,  though  extremely  narrow  and  crooked, 
was  better  built  than  the  streets  we  had  just  left.  Stop 
ping  now  before  what  seemed  a  long  and  low  white  wall, 
our  guide,  descending  a  few  steps,  brought  us  to  the  prin 
cipal  entrance  of  the  dwelling,  for  such  we  found  it  to  be. 
Applying  a  stone  to  the  door,  to  arouse  those  who  might 
be  within,  we  were  immediately  answered  in  a  voice  which 
I  at  once  recognized  as  that  of  Isaac. 

"  Break  not  in  the  door, "  shouted  he,  "  with  your  unman 
nerly  blows.  Who  are  you  that  one  must  live  standing 
with  his  hand  on  the  latch  of  the  door  ?  Wait,  I  say,  till  I 
can  have  time  to  walk  the  length  of  the  room.  What  can  the 
Gentiles  of  Palmyra  want  of  Isaac  of  Eome  at  this  time  of 
night  ?  "  So  muttering,  he  unbarred  and  opened  the  door. 

"  Come  in,  come  in,  the  house  of  Isaac  is  but  a  poor 
house  of  a  poor  Jew,  but  it  has  a  welcome  for  all.  Come 
in  —  come  —  But,  Father  Abraham,  whom  have  we  here  ? 
The  most  noble  Piso !  A  patrician  of  Rome  in  the  hovel  of 
a  poverty -pinched  Jew !  That  would  sound  well  upon  the 
exchange.  It  may  be  of  account.  But  what  am  I  saying  ? 
Welcome  to  Palmyra,  most  noble  Piso,  for  Palmyra  is  one 
of  my  homes ;  at  Rome  and  at  Antioch  and  Alexandria 
and  Ctesiphon  and  Carthage, —  it  is  the  same  to  Isaac. 
Pray  seat  yourselves;  upon  this  chair  thou  wilt  find  a 
secure  seat,  though  it  promises  not  so  much;  and  here, 
upon  my  dromedary's  furniture  is  another.  So,  now  we 
are  well.  Would  that  I  had  that  flask  of  soft  Palmyrene, 
which  but  now  I  sent  —  " 

"  Take  no  trouble  for  our  sakes, "  I  exclaimed,  cordially 
saluting  him ;  "  I  am  just  now  come  from  the  table  of 
Gracchus.  I  have  matters  of  more  moment  to  discuss  than 
either  meats,  or  wines. " 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  59 

"  But,  noble  master,  hast  thou  ever  brought  to  thy  lips 
this  same  soft  Palmyrene?  The  name  indicates  some 
delicious  juice. " 

"  Peace,  Milo,  or  thou  goest  home  alone,  as  thou  best 
canst. " 

"  Koman, "  began  Isaac,  "  I  can  think  only  of  two  reasons 
that  can  have  brought  thee  to  my  poor  abode  so  soon :  the 
one  is  to  furnish  thyself  with  more  of  that  jewellery  which 
gave  thee  so  much  delight ;  and  the  other  to  discourse  with 
me  concerning  the  faith  of  Moses.  Much  as  I  love  a  bar 
gain,  I  hope  it  is  for  the  last  that  thou  art  come;  for  I 
would  fain  see  thee  in  a  better  way  than  thou  art,  or  than 
thou  wouldst  be  if  that  smooth  Probus  could  gain  thy  ear. 
Heed  not  the  wily  Nazarene !  I  cannot  deny  him  a  good 
heart,  after  what  I  saw  of  him  in  Carthage.  But  who  is 
he  to  take  it  upon  him  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  faith  of 
two  thousand  years !  Would  that  I  could  once  see  him  in 
the  grasp  of  Simon  Ben  Gorah!  How  would  his  heresy 
wither  and  die  before  the  learning  of  that  son  of  God! 
Roman,  heed  him  not.  Let  me  take  thee  to  Simon,  that 
thou  mayest  once  in  thy  life  hear  the  words  of  wisdom. " 

"  Not  now,  not  now,  good  Isaac ;  whenever  I  apostatize 
from  the  faith  of  the  founders  of  my  nation,  and  deny  the 
gods  who  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  have  stood  guar 
dians  over  Eome,  I  will  not  refuse  to  weigh  whatever  the 
Jew  has  to  offer  in  behalf  of  his  ancient  creed.  But 
I  come  to  thee  now,  neither  to  buy  of  thee,  nor  to  learn 
truth  of  thee,  but  to  seek  aid  in  a  matter  that  lies  near  my 
heart. " 

"  Ha,  thy  heathen  god  Cupid  has  ensnared  thee !  Well, 
well,  the  young  must  be  humoured,  and  men  must  marry. 
It  was  the  counsel  of  my  father,  whose  beard  came  lower 
than  his  girdle,  and  than  whom  the  Son  of  Sirach  had  not 
more  wisdom,  '  Meddle  not  nor  make  in  the  loves  of  others. 
God  only  knoweth  the  heart.  And  how  knowest  thou  that, 
in  contriving  happiness,  thou  shalt  not  engender  sorrow  ? ' 
Howbeit,  in  many  things  have  I  departed  from  the  counsel 
of  that  venerable  man.  Alas  for  it !  Had  my  feet  taken 


60  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

hold,  in  all  their  goings,  of  his  steps,  I  had  not  now  had 
for  my  only  companion  my  fleet-footed  dromedary,  and  for 
my  only  wealth  this  load  of  gilded  toys.  " 

"  Neither  is  it, "  I  rejoined,  "  for  any  love-sickness  that  I 
am  come,  seeking  some  healing  or  inflaming  drug,  but  upon 
a  matter  of  somewhat  more  moment.  Listen  to  me  while 
I  unfold. " 

So  saying,  I  told  all  that  you  already  so  well  know,  in  as 
few  words  as  I  could,  but  leaving  out  no  argument  by  which 
I  could  hope  to  work  upon  either  the  cupidity,  the  benevo 
lence,  or  the  patriotism  of  the  Jew.  He,  with  his  hands 
folded  under  his  beard,  listened  without  once  interrupting 
me,  but  with  an  expression  of  countenance  so  stolid  that 
when  I  had  ended  I  could  guess  no  better  than  when  I 
began,  as  to  the  part  he  would  act. 

After  a  pause  of  some  length,  he  slowly  began,  discoursing 
rather  with  himself  than  with  me  :  "A  large  enterprise,  and 
to  be  largely  considered.  The  way  is  long, —  seven  hundred 
Koman  miles  at  the  least, —  and  among  little  other  than 
savage  tribes,  save  here  and  there  a  desert  where  the  sands, 
as  is  reported,  rise  and  fall  like  the  sea.  How  can  an  old 
man  like  me  encounter  such  labour  and  peril  ?  These  un 
believing  heathen  think  not  so  much  of  the  life  of  a  Jew 
as  of  a  dog.  Gentile,  why  goest  thou  not  thyself  ?  " 

"  Thy  skill,  Isaac,  and  knowledge  of  men  and  countries 
are  more  than  mine,  and  will  stand  thee  in  good  stead. 
Death  were  the  certain  issue,  were  I  to  venture  upon  this 
expedition,  and  then  my  brother's  fate  were  sealed  forever.  " 

"  I  seem  to  thee,  Koman  Piso,  to  be  a  lone  man  in  a  wide 
world,  who  may  live  or  die,  and  there  be  none  to  know  or 
care  how  it  is.  It  is  verily  much  so.  Yet  I  was  not  al 
ways  alone.  Children  once  leaped  at  the  sound  of  my 
voice,  and  clung  in  sport  to  my  garment.  They  are  in 
Abraham's  bosom.  Better  than  here.  Yet,  Roman,  I 
am  not  alone.  The  God  of  Israel  is  with  me,  and  while 
it  is  Him  I  serve,  life  is  not  without  value.  I  trust  in  the 
coming  restoration  of  Jerusalem ;  for  that  I  toil,  and  for 
that  I  am  ready  to  die.  But  why  should  my  bones  whiten 


ZENOBIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE.  61 

the  desert,  or  my  mangled  carcass  swing  upon  a  Persian 
gibbet  ?  Will  that  be  to  die  for  my  country  ?  " 

"  I  can  enrich  thee  for  thy  services,  Jew ;  and  thou  sayest 
that  it  is  for  wealth,  that  it  may  be  poured  into  the  gene 
ral  coffers  of  thy  tribe,  that  thou  traversest  the  globe. 
Name  thy  sum,  and,  so  it  be  not  beyond  reason,  I  will  be 
bound  to  pay  thee  in  good  Roman  coin.  n 

"  This  is  to  be  thought  of.  Doubtless  thou  wouldst  re 
ward  me  well.  But  consider  how  large  this  sum  must  be. 
I  fear  me  thou  wilt  shrink  from  the  payment  of  it ;  for  a 
Roman  noble  loves  not  money  less  than  a  poor  Jew.  My 
trade  in  Ctesiphon  I  lose;  that  must  be  made  up.  My 
faithful  dromedary  will  be  worn  out  by  the  long  journey ; 
that  too  must  be  made  good.  My  plan  will  require  an 
attendant  slave  and  camel;  then  there  are  the  dangers  of 
the  way,  the  risk  of  life  in  the  city  of  the  great  king, 
and,  if  it  be  not  cut  off,  the  expenses  of  it.  These,  to  Isaac, 
are  not  great ;  but  I  may  be  kept  there  long. " 

"  But  thou  wilt  abate  somewhat  of  the  sum  thou  hast 
determined  upon  out  of  love  to  thy  kind.  Is  the  pleasure 
of  doing  a  good  deed  nothing  to  thee  ?  " 

"  Not  a  jot  will  I  abate  from  a  just  sum  —  not  a  jot. 
And  why  should  I  ?  And  thou  art  not  in  earnest  to  ask 
the  abatement  of  a  feather's  weight.  What  doth  the  Jew 
owe  the  Roman  ?  What  hath  the  Roman  done  to  the  Jew  ? 
He  hath  laid  waste  his  country  with  fire  and  sword.  Her 
towns  and  villages  he  hath  levelled  with  the  ground.  The 
holy  Jerusalem  he  hath  spoiled  and  defiled,  and  then  driven 
the  plough  over  its  ruins.  My  people  are  scattered  abroad 
among  all  nations,  subject  everywhere  to  persecution  and 
death.  This  thou  knowest  is  what  the  Roman  hath  done. 
And  what  then  owe  I,  a  Jew, —  a  Jew,  to  the  Roman  ?  I  bear 
thee,  Piso,  no  ill  will,  —  nay,  I  love  thee;  but  wert  thou 
Rome,  and  this  wheaten  straw  a  dagger,  it  should  find  thy 
heart !  Nay,  start  not ;  I  would  not  hurt  a  hair  of  thy  head. 
But  tell  me  now  if  thou  agreest  to  my  terms  :  one  gold  talent 
of  Jerusalem  if  I  return  alive  with  or  without  thy  brother ; 
and  if  I  perish,  two,  to  be  paid  as  I  shall  direct. " 


62  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Most  heartily,  Isaac,  do  I  agree  to  them,  and  bless  thee 
more  than  words  can  tell,  besides.  Bring  back  my  brother 
alive,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  desire  more,  shall  be 
freely  thine. " 

"  I  am  content.  To-morrow,  then,  I  turn  my  back  upon 
Ctesiphon  and  Palmyra,  and  make  for  Ecbatana.  Of  my 
progress  thou  shalt  learn.  Of  success  I  am  sure, —  that  is, 
if  thy  brother  hearken  to  the  invitation. " 

Then,  giving  such  instructions  as  might  be  necessary  on 
my  part,  we  separated. 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  63 


LETTEE  IV. 

THE   SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE. 

THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  —  COMBAT  BETWEEN  THE  ELEPHANT  AND 
THE  RHINOCEROS.  —  THE  INSULT  TO  AURELIAN.  —  THE  CRY 
OF  THE  PEOPLE.  —  PRESENTATION  TO  THE  QUEEN.  —  JULIA. 

IF  the  gods,  dear  Marcus  and  Lucilia,  came  down  to  dwell 
upon  earth,  they  could  not  but  choose  Palmyra  for  their 
seat,  both  on  account  of  the  general  beauty  of  the  city  and 
its  surrounding  plains,  and  the  exceeding  sweetness  and 
serenity  of  its  climate.  It  is  a  joy  here  only  to  sit  still 
and  live.  The  air,  always  loaded  with  perfume,  seems  to 
convey  essential  nutriment  to  those  who  breathe  it ;  and 
its  hue,  especially  when  a  morning  or  evening  sun  shines 
through  it,  is  of  that  golden  cast  which,  as  poets  feign, 
bathes  the  tops  of  Olympus.  Never  do  we  tremble  here 
before  blasts  like  those  which  from  the  Apennines  sweep 
along  the  plains  and  cities  of  the  Italian  coast.  No  ex 
tremes  of  either  heat  or  cold  are  experienced  in  this  happy 
spot.  In  winter,  airs  which  in  other  places  equally  far  to 
the  north  would  come  bearing  with  them  an  icy  coldness, 
are  here  tempered  by  the  vast  deserts  of  sand  which  stretch 
away  in  every  direction,  and  which,  it  is  said,  never  wholly 
lose  the  heat  treasured  up  during  the  fierce  reign  of  the 
summer  sun.  And  in  summer  the  winds,  which  as  they 
pass  over  the  deserts  are  indeed  like  the  breath  of  a  fur 
nace,  long  before  they  reach  the  city,  change  to  a  cool  and 
refreshing  breeze,  by  traversing  as  they  do  the  vast  tracts 
of  cultivated  ground  which,  as  I  have  already  told  you, 
surround  the  capital  to  a  very  great  extent  on  every  side. 
Palmyra  is  the  very  heaven  of  the  body.  Every  sense  is 
fed  to  the  full  with  that  which  it  chiefly  covets.  But  when 


64  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

I  add  to  this,  that  its  unrivalled  position  in  respect  to  a 
great  inland  traffic  has  poured  into  the  lap  of  its  inhabi 
tants  a  sudden  and  boundless  flood  of  wealth,  making  every 
merchant  a  prince,  you  will  truly  suppose,  that  however 
heartily  I  extol  it  for  its  outward  beauties,  and  all  the  ap 
pliances  of  luxury,  I  do  not  conceive  it  very  favourable  in 
its  influences  upon  the  character  of  its  population.  Pal- 
myrenes,  charming  as  they  are,  are  not  Eomans.  They  are 
enervated  by  riches,  and  the  luxurious  sensual  indulgences 
which  they  bring  along,  by  necessity,  in  their  train,  all 
their  evil  power  being  here  increased  by  the  voluptuous 
softness  of  the  climate.  I  do  not  say  that  all  are  so.  All 
Kome  cannot  furnish  a  woman  more  truly  Koman  than 
Fausta,  nor  a  man  more  worthy  that  name  than  Grac 
chus.  It  is  of  the  younger  portion  of  the  inhabitants  I  now 
speak.  These  are  without  exception  effeminate.  They  love 
their  country  and  their  great  queen,  but  they  are  not  a 
defence  upon  which,  in  time  of  need,  to  rely.  Neither  do 
I  deny  them  courage.  They  want  something  more  vital 
still, —  bodily  strength  and  martial  training.  Were  it  not 
for  this,  I  should  almost  fear  for  the  issue  of  any  encounter 
between  Kome  and  Palmyra.  But  as  it  is,  notwithstanding 
the  great  achievements  of  Odenatus  and  Zenobia,  I  cannot 
but  deem  the  glory  of  this  state  to  have  risen  to  its  highest 
point,  and  even  to  have  passed  it.  You  may  think  me  to  be 
hasty  in  forming  this  opinion,  but  I  am  persuaded  you  will 
agree  with  me  when  you  shall  have  seen  more  at  length  the 
grounds  upon  which  I  rest  it,  as  they  are  laid  down  in  my 
last  letter  to  Portia. 

But  I  did  not  mean  to  say  these  things  when  I  sat  down 
to  my  tablets,  but  rather  to  tell  you  of  myself,  and  what  I 
have  seen  and  done  since  I  last  wrote.  I  have  experienced 
and  enjoyed  much.  How,  indeed,  could  it  be  otherwise, 
in  the  house  of  Gracchus,  and  with  Gracchus  and  Fausta 
for  my  companions  ?  Many  are  the  excursions  we  have  to 
gether  taken  into  the  country,  to  the  neighbouring  hills 
whence  the  city  derives  its  ample  supply  of  water,  and  even 
to  the  very  borders  of  the  desert  I  have  thus  seen  much 


THE   SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  65 

of  this  people,  of  their  pursuits,  and  modes  of  life,  and  I 
have  found  that,  whether  they  have  been  of  the  original 
Palmyrene  population,  Persian  or  Parthian  emigrants,  Jews, 
Arabians,  or  even  Eomans,  they  agree  in  one  thing, — 
love  of  their  queen,  and  in  a  determination  to  defend  her 
and  her  capital  to  the  last  extremity,  whether  against  the 
encroachments  of  Persia  or  Koine.  Independence  is  their 
watchword.  They  have  already  shown,  in  a  manner  the 
most  unequivocal,  and  to  themselves  eternally  honourable, 
that  they  will  not  be  the  slaves  of  Sapor,  nor  dependants 
upon  his  power.  And  surely  they  have  given,  at  the  same 
time,  the  clearest  proof  of  their  kindly  feeling  toward  us, 
and  of  their  earnest  desire  to  live  at  peace  with  us.  I  truly 
hope  that  no  extravagances  on  the  part  of  the  queen,  or  her 
too  ambitious  advisers,  will  endanger  the  existing  tranquil 
lity;  yet  from  a  late  occurrence,  of  which  I  was  myself  a 
witness,  among  other  excited  thousands,  I  am  filled  with 
apprehensions. 

That  to  which  I  allude  happened  at  the  great  amphi 
theatre  during  an  exhibition  of  games  given  by  Zenobia  on 
the  occasion  of  her  return,  in  which  the  Palmyrenes,  espe 
cially  those  of  Roman  descent,  take  great  delight.  I  care, 
as  you  know,  nothing  for  them,  nor  only  that,  abhor  them 
for  their  power  to  imbrute  the  people  accustomed  to  their 
spectacles  more  and  more.  In  this  instance  I  was  per 
suaded  by  Fausta  and  Gracchus  to  attend,  as  I  should  see 
both  the  queen  and  her  subjects  under  favourable  circum 
stances  to  obtain  new  knowledge  of  their  characters ;  and 
I  am  not  sorry  to  have  been  there. 

The  show  could  boast  all  the  magnificence  of  Rome. 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  excitement  and  tumult  of  the 
city.  Its  whole  population  was  abroad  to  partake  of  the 
general  joy.  Early  in  the  day  the  streets  began  to  be 
thronged  with  the  multitudes  who  were  either  pouring 
along  toward  the  theatre,  to  secure  in  season  the  best 
seats,  or,  with  eager,  idle  curiosity,  pressing  after  the 
cages  of  wild  animals,  drawn  by  elephants  or  camels  to 
ward  the  place  of  combat  and  slaughter.  As  a  part  of 


66  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

this  throng,  I  found  myself  seated  between  Gracchus  and 
Fausta,  in  their  most  sumptuous  chariot,  themselves  ar 
rayed  in  their  most  sumptuous  attire.  Our  horses  could 
scarcely  do  more  than  walk,  and  were  frequently  obliged  to 
stand  still,  owing  to  the  crowds  of  men  on  horse,  on  foot, 
and  in  vehicles  of  every  sort,  which  filled  the  streets.  The 
roaring  of  the  imprisoned  animals,  the  loud  voices  of  their 
keepers,  and  of  the  drivers  of  the  cumbrous  wagons  which 
held  them,  the  neighing,  or  screaming,  I  might  say,  of  the 
affrighted  horses  every  now  and  then  brought  into  imme 
diate  contact  with  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forests,  —  lions, 
tigers,  or  leopards,  made  a  scene  of  confusion,  the  very 
counterpart  of  what  we  have  so  often  witnessed  in  Eome, 
which  always  pains  more  than  it  pleases  me,  and  which 
I  now  describe  at  all  only  that  you  may  believe,  what 
Eomans  are  so  slow  to  believe,  that  there  are  other  cities 
in  the  world  where  great  actions  are  done  as  well  as  in 
your  own.  The  inhabitants  of  Palmyra  are  as  quick  as  you 
could  desire  them  to  be  in  catching  the  vices  and  fashions 
of  the  great  metropolis. 

"  Scipio,  Scipio, "  cried  Gracchus,  suddenly,  to  his  chario 
teer,  "  be  not  in  too  great  haste.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  pass  that  wagon ;  nay,  unless  you  shall  be  a  little  more 
reserved  in  your  approaches,  the  paw  of  that  tawny  Nu- 
midian  will  find  its  way  to  the  neck  of  our  favourite  Arab. 
The  bars  of  his  cage  are  over  far  apart. " 

"  I  almost  wish  they  were  yet  farther  apart, "  said  I,  "  and 
that  he  might  fairly  find  his  way  into  the  thickest  of  this 
foolish  crowd,  and  take  a  short  revenge  upon  his  civilized 
tormentors.  What  a  spectacle  is  this  —  more  strange  and 
savage,  I  think,  looked  upon  aright,  than  that  which  we 
are  going  to  enjoy  —  of  you,  Gracchus,  a  pillar  of  a  great 
kingdom ;  of  me,  a  pillar  —  a  lesser  one,  indeed,  but  still  a 
pillar  —  of  a  greater  kingdom ;  and  of  you,  Fausta,  a  woman  ; 
—  all  on  our  way  to  see  wild  beasts  let  loose  to  lacerate 
and  destroy  each  other;  and,  what  is  worse,  gladiators  — 
that  is,  educated  murderers  —  set  upon  one  another,  to  die 
for  our  entertainment.  The  best  thing  I  have  heard  of  the 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  67 

Christian  superstition  is,  that  it  utterly  denounces  and 
prohibits  to  its  disciples  the  frequenting  of  these  shows. 
Nothing  to  me  is  plainer  than  that  we  may  trace  the  cruel 
ties  of  Marius,  Sylla,  and  their  worthy  imitators  through 
the  long  line  of  our  emperors,  to  these  schools  where  they 
had  their  early  training.  Why  was  Domitian  with  his 
fly  worse  than  Gracchus  or  Piso  or  Fausta  and  their  gored 
elephant  or  dying  gladiator  ?  " 

"  You  take  this  custom  too  seriously, "  replied  Gracchus ; 
"  I  see  in  it,  so  far  as  the  beasts  are  concerned,  but  a  lawful 
source  of  pleasure.  If  they  tore  not  one  another  in  pieces 
for  our  entertainment,  they  would  still  do  it  for  their  own 
in  their  native  forests ;  and  if  it  must  be  done,  it  were  a 
pity  none  enjoyed  it.  Then  for  the  effects  upon  the  be 
holding  crowd,  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  are  rather 
necessary  and  wholesome  than  otherwise.  They  help  to 
render  men  insensible  to  danger,  suffering,  and  death ;  and 
as  we  are  so  often  called  upon  to  fight  each  other,  and  die 
in  defence  of  our  liberties,  or  of  our  tyrants  and  oppressors, 
whichever  it  may  be,  it  seems  to  me  we  are  in  need  of  some 
such  initiatory  process  in  the  art  of  seeing  blood  shed  un 
moved,  and  of  some  lessons  which  shall  diminish  our  love 
and  regard  for  life.  As  for  the  gladiators,  they  are  wretches 
who  are  better  dead  than  alive ;  and  to  die  in  the  excite 
ment  of  a  combat  is  not  worse,  perhaps,  than  to  expire 
through  the  slow  and  lingering  assaults  of  a  painful  disease. 
Besides,  with  us  there  is  never,  as  with  you,  cool  and  de 
liberate  murder  perpetrated  on  the  part  of  the  assembly. 
There  is  here  no  turning  up  of  the  thumb.  It  is  all  hon 
ourable  fight  and  honourable  killing.  What,  moreover, 
shall  be  done  to  entertain  the  people?  We  must  feed 
them  with  some  such  spectacles,  or  I  verily  think  they 
would  turn  upon  each  other  for  amusement,  in  civil  broil 
and  slaughter. " 

"  Your  Epicurean  philosophy  teaches  you,  I  am  aware, " 
said  I,  in  reply,  "  to  draw  happiness  as  you  best  can  from 
all  the  various  institutions  of  Providence  and  of  man;  not 
to  contend,  but  to  receive,  and  submit,  and  be  thankful 


68          ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

It  is  a  philosophy  well  enough  for  man's  enjoyment  of  the 
passing  hour,  but  it  fatally  obstructs,  it  appears  to  me,  the 
way  of  improvement.  For  my  own  part,  though  I  am  no 
philosopher,  yet  I  hold  to  this,  that  whatever  our  reason 
proves  to  be  wrong  or  defective,  it  at  the  same  time  en 
forces  the  duty  of  change  and  reform, —  that  no  palpable 
evil,  either  in  life  or  government,  is  to  be  passively  sub 
mitted  to  as  incurable.  In  these  spectacles  I  behold  an 
enormous  wrong,  a  terrific  evil ;  and  though  I  see  not  how 
the  wrong  is  to  be  redressed,  nor  the  evil  to  be  removed,  I 
none  the  less,  but  so  much  the  more,  conceive  it  to  be  my 
part,  as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  to  think  and  converse,  as  now, 
upon  the  subject,  in  the  hope  that  some  new  light  may 
dawn  upon  its  darkness.  What  think  you,  Fausta?  I 
hope  you  agree  with  me;  nay,  as  to  that,  I  think  Grac 
chus,  from  his  tone,  was  but  half  in  earnest.  " 

"  It  has  struck  me  chiefly, "  said  Fausta,  "  as  a  foolish 
custom, — not  so  much  in  itself  very  wrong,  as  childish.  It 
is  to  me,  indeed,  attended  with  pain;  but  that  I  suppose  is 
a  weakness  of  my  own, —  it  seems  not  to  be  so  in  the  case 
of  others.  I  have  thought  it  a  poor,  barren  entertainment, 
fit  but  for  children,  and  those  grown  children  whose  minds, 
uninstructed  in  higher  things,  must  seek  their  happiness 
in  some  spring  of  mere  sensual  joy.  Women  frequent  the 
amphitheatre,  I  am  sure,  rather  to  make  a  show  of  their 
beauty,  their  dress,  and  equipage,  than  for  anything  else ; 
and  they  would,  I  believe,  easily  give  in  to  any  change,  so 
it  should  leave  them  an  equally  fair  occasion  of  display. 
But  so  far  as  attending  the  spectacles  tends  to  make  better 
soldiers  and  stouter  defenders  of  our  queen,  I  confess, 
Lucius,  I  look  upon  them  with  some  favour;  but  come, 
our  talk  is  getting  to  be  a  little  too  grave.  Look,  Lucius, 
if  this  be  not  a  brave  sight  ?  See  what  a  mass  of  life  en 
compasses  the  circus !  And  its  vast  walls,  from  the  lowest 
entrances  to  its  very  summit,  swarm,  as  it  were,  with  the 
whole  population  of  Palmyra.  It  is  not  so  large  a  building 
as  your  Flavian,  but  it  is  not  wholly  unworthy  to  be  com 
pared  with  it. " 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  69 

"  It  is  not,  indeed, "  said  I ;  "  although  not  so  large,  its 
architecture  is  equally  in  accordance  with  the  best  princi 
ples,  both  of  science  and  taste,  and  the  stone  is  of  a  purer 
white,  and  more  finely  worked.  " 

We  now  descended  from  our  carriage,  and  made  our  way 
through  the  narrow  passages  and  up  the  narrow  stairways 
to  the  interior  of  the  theatre,  which  was  already  much 
more  than  half  filled.  The  seats  to  which  we  were  con 
ducted  were  not  far  from  those  which  were  to  be  occupied 
by  the  queen  and  her  train.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  the 
time  was  passed  which  intervened  between  taking  our  seat, 
the  filling  of  the  theatre,  and  the  commencement  of  the 
games :  how  we  all  were  amused  by  the  fierce  strugglings 
of  those  who  most  wished  to  exhibit  themselves  for  the  best 
places ;  by  the  efforts  of  many  to  cause  themselves  to  be 
recognized  by  those  who  were  of  higher  rank  than  them 
selves,  and  to  avoid  the  neighbourhood,  and  escape  the 
notice  of  others  whose  acquaintance  would  bring  them  no 
credit;  how  we  laughed  at  the  awkward  movements  and 
labours  of  the  servants  of  the  circus,  who  were  busying 
themselves  in  giving  its  final  smoothness  to  the  sawdust, 
and  hurrying  through  the  last  little  offices  of  so  vast  a 
preparation,  urged  on  continually  by  the  voices  or  lashes 
of  the  managers  of  the  games ;  nor  how  our  ears  were  deaf 
ened  by  the  fearful  yellings  of  the  maddened  beasts  con 
fined  in  the  vivaria,  the  grated  doors  of  which  opened,  as 
in  the  Roman  buildings  of  the  same  kind,  immediately  on 
the  arena.  Neither  will  I  inflict  weariness  upon  myself  or 
you  by  a  detailed  account  of  the  kind  and  order  of  the 
games  at  this  time  exhibited  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
people.  The  whole  show  was  an  exact  copy  from  the  usages 
of  Rome.  I  could  hardly  believe  myself  in  the  heart  of 
Asia.  Touching  only  upon  these  things,  so  familiar  to  you, 
I  will  relate  what  I  was  able  to  observe  of  the  queen  and 
her  demeanour,  about  which  I  know  you  will  feel  chiefly 
desirous  of  information. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  games  had  been  some  time 
in  progress,  and  the  wrestlers  and  mock -fighters  having 


70  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

finished  their  foolish  feats,  the  combats  of  wild  animals  with 
each  other  had  commenced,  that  a  herald  announced  by 
sound  of  trumpet  the  approach  of  the  queen.  The  moment 
that  sound  and  the  loud  clang  of  martial  music  which  fol 
lowed  it  were  heard,  every  eye  of  the  vast  multitude  was 
turned  to  the  part  of  the  circus  where  we  were  sitting,  and 
near  which  was  the  passage  by  which  Zenobia  would  enter 
the  theatre.  The  animals  now  tore  each  other  piecemeal, 
unnbticed  by  the  impatient  throng.  A  greater  care  pos 
sessed  them.  And  no  sooner  did  the  object  of  this  uni 
versal  expectation  reveal  herself  to  their  sight,  led  to  her 
seat  by  the  dark  Zabdas,  followed  by  the  Princess  Julia 
and  Longinus,  and  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  the  rank  and 
beauty  of  Palmyra,  than  one  enthusiastic  cry  of  loyalty 
and  affection  rent  the  air,  drowning  all  other  sounds,  and 
causing  the  silken  canopy  of  the  amphitheatre  to  sway  to 
and  fro  as  if  shaken  by  a  tempest.  The  very  foundations 
of  the  huge  structure  seemed  to  tremble  in  their  places. 
With  what  queenly  dignity,  yet  with  what  enchanting 
sweetness,  did  the  great  Zenobia  acknowledge  the  greetings 
of  her  people !  The  colour  of  her  cheek  mounted  and  fell 
again,  even  as  it  would  have  done  in  a  young  girl,  and 
glances  full  of  sensibility  and  love  went  from  her  to  every 
part  of  the  boundless  interior,  and  seemed  to  seek  out  every 
individual,  and  to  each  make  a  separate  return  for  the 
hearty  welcome  with  which  she  had  been  received.  These 
mutual  courtesies  being  quickly  ended,  the  games  again 
went  on,  and  every  eye  was  soon  riveted  on  the  arena, 
where  animals  were  contending  with  each  other  or  with 
men. 

The  multitude  being  thus  intently  engaged,  those  who 
chose  to  employ  their  time  differently  were  left  at  full 
liberty  to  amuse  themselves  with  conversation  or  other 
wise,  as  pleased  them.  Many  a  fat  and  unwieldy  citizen 
we  saw  soundly  sleeping  in  spite  of  the  roarings  of  the 
beasts  and  the  shouts  of  the  spectators.  Others,  gathering 
together  in  little  societies  of  their  own,  passed  all  the  in 
tervals  between  the  games,  as  well  as  the  time  taken  up  by 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  71 

games  which  gave  them  no  pleasure,  in  discussing  with  one 
another  the  fashions,  the  news,  or  the  politics  of  the  day. 
Of  these  parties  we  were  one;  for  neither  Gracchus  nor 
Fausta  nor  I  cared  much  for  the  sports  of  the  day,  and 
there  were  few  foolish  or  wise  things  that  were  not  uttered 
by  one  of  us  during  the  continuance  of  those  tedious,  never- 
ending  games. 

"  Well,  Lucius, "  said  Fausta,  "  and  what  think  you  now 
of  our  great  queen  ?  For  the  last  half -hour  your  eyes  hav 
ing  scarcely  wandered  from  her,  you  must  by  this  time  be 
prepared  with  an  opinion.  " 

"  There  can  be  little  interest, "  said  I,  "  in  hearing  an 
opinion  on  a  subject  about  which  all  the  world  is  agreed. 
I  can  only  say  what  all  say.  I  confess  I  have  never  before 
seen  such  a  woman.  I  am  already  prepared  to  love  and 
worship  her  with  you,  for  I  am  sure  that  such  pre-eminent 
beauty  exists  in  company  with  a  goodness  that  corresponds 
to  it.  Her  intellect,  too,  we  know,  is  not  surpassed  in 
strength  by  that  of  any  philosopher  of  the  East.  These 
things  being  so,  where  in  the  world  can  we  believe  there 
is  a  woman  to  be  compared  with  her  ?  As  for  Cleopatra, 
she  is  not  worthy  to  be  named. " 

As  I  uttered  these  things  with  animation  and  vehemence, 
showing,  I  suppose,  in  my  manner  how  deeply  I  felt  all 
that  I  said,  I  perceived  Fausta 's  fine  countenance  glowing 
with  emotion,  and  tears  of  gratified  affection  standing  big 
in  her  eyes. 

Gracchus  spoke.  "  Piso, "  said  he,  "  I  do  not  wonder  at 
the  enthusiastic  warmth  of  your  language.  Chilled  as  my 
blood  is  by  the  approaches  of  age,  I  feel  even  as  you  do, — 
nay,  I  suppose  I  feel  much  more ;  for  to  all  your  admira 
tion,  as  a  mere  philosophical  observer,  there  is  added  in 
my  case  the  fervid  attachment  which  springs  from  long 
and  intimate  knowledge,  and  from  an  intercourse  which 
not  the  coolness  of  a  single  hour  has  ever  interrupted.  It 
would  be  strange  indeed  if  there  were  not  one  single  flaw 
in  so  bright  an  emanation  from  the  very  soul  of  the  di 
vinity,  wearing  as  it  does  the  form  of  humanity.  You 


72  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

know  me  to  allude  to  her  ambition.  It  is  boundless, 
almost  insane.  Csesar  himself  was  not  more  ambitious. 
But  in  her  even  this  is  partly  a  virtue,  even  in  its  wildest 
extravagance;  for  ft  is  never  for  herself  alone  that  she 
reaches  so  far  and  so  high,  but  as  much  or  more  for  her 
people.  She  never  separates  herself  from  them  even  in 
thought ;  and  all  her  aspirings  are,  that  she  herself  may  be 
great  indeed,  but  that  her  country  may  with  and  through 
her  be  great  also,  and  her  people  happy.  When  I  see  her 
as  now  surrounded  by  her  subjects,  and  lodged  in  their 
very  heart  of  hearts,  I  wish,  and  fervently  would  I  pray, 
were  there  gods  to  implore,  that  her  restless  spirit  may  be 
at  peace,  and  that  she  may  seek  no  higher  good,  either  for 
herself  or  her  people,  than  that  which  we  now  enjoy.  But 
I  confess  myself  to  be  full  of  apprehension.  I  tremble  for 
my  country.  And  yet  here  is  my  little  rebel  Fausta,  who 
will  not  hearken  to  this,  but  adds  the  fuel  of  her  own  fiery 
spirit  to  feed  that  of  her  great  mistress.  It  were  beyond  a 
doubt  a  good  law  which  should  exclude  women  from  any 
part  in  public  affairs.  " 

"  Dear  father,  how  you  do  remind  me  of  the  elder  Cato, 
in  the  matter  of  the  Oppian  Law!  While  women  inter 
fered  in  public  affairs  only  to  promote  the  interests  of  their 
worthy  husbands,  the  lords  of  the  world,  the  great  Cato  had 
never  thought  but  to  commend  them;  but  no  sooner  did 
they  seek  to  secure  some  privileges  very  dear  to  them  as 
women,  and  clamour  a  little  in  order  to  obtain  them,  than 
straightway  they  were  nuisances  in  the  body  politic,  and 
ought  to  be  restrained  by  enactments  from  having  any 
voice  in  the  business  of  the  state.  Truly  I  think  this  far 
from  generous  treatment.  And  happy  am  I,  for  one,  that 
at  length  the  gods,  in  their  good  providence,  have  permitted 
that  one  woman  should  arise  to  vindicate  her  sex  against 
the  tyranny  of  her  ancient  oppressors.  If  I  might  appoint 
to  the  spirits  of  the  departed  their  offices,  I  could  wish 
nothing  merrier  than  that  that  same  Cato  should  be  made 
the  newscarrier  from  the  kingdom  of  Zenobia  to  the  council 
of  the  gods.  How  he  would  enjoy  his  occupation!  But 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  73 

seriously,  dear  father,  I  see  not  that  our  queen  has  any 
more  of  this  same  ambition  than  men  are  in  the  same  posi 
tion  permitted  to  have,  and  accounted  all  the  greater  for  it. 
Is  that  a  vice  in  Zenobia  which  is  a  glory  in  Aurelian  ? 
Longinus  would  not  decide  so.  But  see  how  intent  the 
queen  is  upon  the  games.  " 

"  I  would  rather, "  said  I,  "  that  she  should  not  gaze  upon 
so  cruel  a  sight.  But  see,  too,  the  Princess  Julia  has  hid 
den  her  head  in  the  folds  of  her  veil. " 

"  Julia's  heart, "  said  Fausta,  "  is  even  tenderer  than  a 
woman's.  Besides,  if  I  mistake  not,  she  has  on  this  point 
at  least  adopted  some  of  the  notions  of  the  Christians. 
Paul  of  Antioch  has  not  been  without  his  power  over  her. 
And  truly  his  genius  is  well  nigh  irresistible.  A  stronger 
intellect  than  hers  might  without  shame  yield  to  his.  Look, 
look !  —  the  elephant  will  surely  conquer  after  all.  The 
gods  grant  he  may  !  He  is  a  noble  creature ;  but  how  cruelly 
beset !  Three  such  foes  are  too  much  for  a  fair  battle.  How 
he  has  wreathed  his  trunk  round  that  tiger,  and  now  whirls 
him  in  the  air !  But  the  rhinoceros  sees  his  advantage : 
quick,  quick !  " 

Fausta,  too,  could  not  endure  the  savage  sight,  but  turned 
her  head  away ;  for  the  huge  rhinoceros,  as  the  elephant 
lifted  the  tiger  from  the  ground  in  the  act  to  dash  him 
again  to  the  earth,  seized  the  moment,  and  before  the  noble 
animal  could  recover  himself,  buried  his  enormous  tusk 
deep  in  his  vitals.  It  was  fatal  to  both;  for  the  assail 
ant,  unable  to  extricate  his  horn,  was  crushed  through 
every  bone  in  his  body  by  the  weight  of  the  falling  ele 
phant.  A  single  tiger  remained  master  of  the  field,  and 
who  now  testified  his  joy  by  coursing  round  and  round  the 
arena. 

"  Well,  well, "  said  Gracchus,  "  they  would  have  died  in 
the  forest;  what  signifies  it?  But  why  is  this  blast  of 
trumpets  ?  It  is  the  royal  flourish !  Ah,  I  see  how  it  is ; 
the  sons  of  Zenobia,  whom  none  miss  not  being  present,  are 
about  to  enter  the  theatre.  They  make  amends  by  the 
noise  of  their  approach  for  their  temporary  absence.  Yet 


74  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

these  distant  shouts  are  more  than  usual  The  gods  grant 
that  none  of  my  fears  may  turn  true !  " 

No  sooner  had  Gracchus  ended  these  words,  while  his 
face  grew  pale  with  anxious  expectation,  than  suddenly  the 
three  sons  of  the  queen  made  their  appearance,  and  —  how 
shall  I  say  it  ?  —  arrayed  in  imperial  purple,  and  habited 
in  all  respects  as  Caesars.  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  at  that 
very  moment  the  pillars  of  this  flourishing  empire  crumbled 
to  their  foundation.  And  now  while  I  write,  and  the  heat 
of  the  moment  is  past,  I  cannot  but  predict  disaster  and 
ruin,  at  least  fierce  and  desolating  wars,  as  the  consequence 
of  the  rash  act.  I  know  the  soul  of  Aurelian,  and  that  it 
will  never  brook  what  it  shall  so  much  as  dream  to  be  an 
indignity,  never  endure  so  much  as  the  thought  of  rivalry 
in  another,  whether  Roman  or  foreigner,  man  or  woman. 
To  think  it,  is  treason  with  him, —  a  crime  for  which  blood 
only  can  atone. 

Having  entered  thus  the  amphitheatre,  assuming  a  high 
and  haughty  bearing  as  if  they  were  already  masters  of  the 
world,  they  advanced  to  the  front  railing,  and  there  re 
ceived  the  tumultuous  acclamations  of  the  people.  A 
thousand  different  cries  filled  the  air.  Each  uttered  the 
sentiment  which  possessed  him,  regardless  of  all  but  testi 
fying  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  reigning  house.  Much  of 
the  language  was  directed  against  Rome,  which,  since  the 
circulation  of  the  rumours  of  which  I  have  already  spoken, 
has  become  the  object  of  their  most  jealous  regard.  Aure 
lian 's  name  was  coupled  with  every  term  of  reproach.  "  Is 
Aurelian  to  possess  the  whole  earth  ?  "  cried  one.  "  Who 
are  Romans  ?  "  cried  another ;  "  the  story  of  Valerian  shows 
that  they  are  not  invincible. "  "  We  will  put  Zabdas 
and  Zenobia  against  the  world !  "  shouted  others.  "  The 
conqueror  of  Egypt  forever !  *  —  "  Long  live  the  great  Zab 
das  !  "  rose  from  every  quarter.  It  were  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  remember  or  write  down  half  the  violent  things  which  in 
this  hour  of  madness  were  uttered.  The  games  were  for  a 
long  time  necessarily  suspended,  and  the  whole  amphi 
theatre  was  converted  into  an  arena  of  political  discussion 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  75 

from  which  arose  the  confused  din  of  unnumbered  voices, 
like  the  roar  of  the  angry  ocean.  I  looked  at  Zenobia ;  she 
was  calm,  satisfied.  Pride  was  upon  her  lip  and  brow. 
So  like  a  god  was  the  expression  of  her  whole  form  that 
for  a  moment  I  almost  wished  her  mistress  of  the  world. 
She  seemed  worthy  to  reign.  Julia  was  evidently  sad, 
and  almost  distressed.  Longinus,  impenetrable  as  marble. 
Zabdas,  black  and  lowering  as  night. 

Quiet  was  at  length  restored,  and  the  games  went  on. 

A  messenger  came  now  from  the  queen  to  our  seat,  with 
the  request  that  Fausta  should  join  her,  not  being  satisfied 
with  the  distant  intercourse  of  looks  and  signs.  So,  ac 
companied  by  Gracchus,  she  was  soon  placed  by  the  side  of 
Zenobia,  whose  happiness  seemed  doubled  by  the  society 
of,  I  believe,  her  choicest  friend.  Left  now  to  myself,  I  had 
leisure  to  think  and  to  observe.  A  more  gorgeous  show 
than  this  vast  assembly  presented,  I  think  I  never  before 
beheld, — no,  not  even  in  the  Flavian.  Although  in  Eome 
we  seem  to  draw  together  people  of  all  regions  and  all 
climes,  yet,  after  all,  the  North  and  West  preponderate, 
and  we  lack  the  gayer  costumes  which  a  larger  proportion 
of  these  Orientals  would  add  to  our  spectacles.  Not  to  say, 
too,  that  here  in  the  East  the  beauty  of  woman  is  more 
transcendent,  and  the  forms  of  the  men  cast  in  a  finer 
mould.  Every  variety  of  complexion  is  here  also  to  be 
seen, — from  the  jet  black  of  the  slender  Ethiopian  to  the 
more  than  white  of  the  women  of  the  Danube.  Here  I 
saw  before  me  in  one  promiscuous  throng,  arrayed  in  their 
national  dresses,  Persians,  dark-skinned  Indians,  swarthy 
Egyptians,  the  languishing,  soft-eyed  Syrian,  sylphs  from 
the  borders  of  the  Caspian,  women  of  the  Jews  from  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  Greeks  from  Asia  Minor,  the 
Islands,  and  Attica,  with  their  classic  costumes  and  statue- 
like  forms  and  faces,  Romans,  and  abounding  over  all,  and 
more  beautiful  than  all,  the  richly -habited  nobles  and  gen 
try  of  Palmyra  itself.  I  enjoyed  the  scene  as  a  man  and 
a  philosopher, — nay,  as  a  Roman  too;  and  could  not  but 
desire  earnestly  that  the  state,  of  whose  prosperity  it  was 


76  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

so  clear  a  token,  might  last  even  with  Home  itself.  I 
wished  you  and  Lucilia  at  my  side  —  not  to  mention  the 
little  Gallus;  not,  as  you  may  believe,  to  witness  the 
game,  but  to  behold  in  this  remote  centre  of  Asia  so  fair  a 
show  of  our  common  race. 

It  was  not  till  the  sun  was  already  about  to  sink  in  the 
west  that  the  games  ended,  and  the  crowds  dispersed,  and 
I  once  more  found  myself  in  the  peaceful  precincts  of  home  ; 
for  so  already  do  I  call  the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Gracchus. 

"  So,  Fausta, "  said  I,  "  you  forsook  your  old  friend  Lucius 
for  the  companionship  of  a  queen  ?  Truly  I  cannot  blame 
you,  for  most  gladly  would  I,  too,  have  gone  and  made  one 
of  your  circle.  How  irksome  are  the  form  and  restraints  of 
station,  and  even  of  society !  How  little  freedom  do  they 
allow  in  the  expression  of  our  real  sentiments !  Could  I 
have  sat  with  you  by  Zenobia,  can  I  doubt  that,  by  a 
frank  disclosure  of  my  feelings  and  opinions,  I  could  have 
corrected  some  errors,  softened  some  prejudices,  and  at  the 
same  time  gained  her  esteem, — her  esteem  for  me,  I  mean, 
as  a  sincere  well-wisher  to  her  kingdom,  although  none  the 
less  a  Eoman  ?  It  would  have  been  a  fortunate  moment  for 
such  communication  as  I  desire.  I  trust  yet,  seeing  such 
a  promise  has  gone  forth  from  you,  to  see  her  in  her  own 
palace. " 

"  Indeed,  you  shall, "  said  Fausta ;  "  it  has  only  been 
owing  to  fatigue  after  her  long  excursion,  and  to  this 
show  of  games,  that  you  have  not  seen  her  long  before 
this.  She  is  well  aware  of  your  rank  and  footing  of  inti 
macy  with  Aurelian,  and  of  the  object  for  which  you  make 
this  visit  to  her  capital,  and  has  expressed  frequent  and 
earnest  desires  of  an  interview  with  you.  And  now  have 
I  a  great  mind  not  to  tell  you  of  the  speedy  pleasure  and 
honour  that  await  you.  What  will  you  give  to  know  the 
tenour  of  what  I  have  to  say  ?  " 

"  I  will  confer  the  greatest  honour  in  my  power, "  said  I ; 
u  I  will  dislodge  the  emperor  from  my  own  finger,  and  re 
place  him  upon  yours.  Here  I  offer  you  the  head  of  Aure 
lian  —  cut,  not  indeed  by  the  cunning  tool  of  Demetrius  of 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  77 

Rome,  but  doubtless  by  some  competent  artist.     Is  it  not 
a  fair  offer,  Gracchus  ?  " 

"  I  fear,  unless  you  make  a  different  and  a  better  one,  you 
will  scarce  open  the  lips  of  our  fierce  patriot,"  answered 
Gracchus. 

"  That  will  he  not, "  said  Fausta ;  "  were  he  to  engage  by 
to-morrow  to  make  himself  over  into  a  veritable,  sound- 
hearted,  queen-loving  Palmyrene,  it  would  not  be  more 
than  he  ought  to  do.  I  am  sure  old  Solon  toiled  hard  to 
make  a  Eoman  out  of  me ;  and  how  do  I  know  but  it  was  at 
your  instance  ?  And  it  having  been  so,  as  I  must  believe, 
what  less  can  you  do  in  atonement  than  to  plant  yourself 
here  upon  the  soil  of  Palmyra  ?  A  Roman,  trust  me,  takes 
quick  root  in  this  rich  earth,  and  soon  shoots  up  and  spreads 
out  into  a  perfectly  proportioned  Palmyrene,  tall  and  beau 
tiful  as  a  date-tree.  Father,  how  can  we  bribe  him  ?  You 
shake  your  head  as  if  without  hope.  Well,  let  us  wait  till 
Calpurnius  returns;  when  you  find  him  an  Oriental,  per 
haps  you  may  be  induced  to  emigrate  too.  Surely  it  is  no 
such  great  matter  to  remove  from  Rome  to  Palmyra  ?  We 
do  not  ask  you  to  love  Rome  any  the  less,  but  only  Palmyra 
more.  I  still  trust  we  shall  ever  dwell  in  friendship  with 
each  other.  We  certainly  must  desire  it,  who  are  half 
Roman.  But  why  do  I  keep  you  in  such  painful  suspense  ? 
Hear,  then,  my  message,  which  is,  that  you  will  appear  at 
the  palace  of  Zenobia  to-morrow.  The  queen  desires  a  pri 
vate  interview  with  you,  and  for  that  purpose  will  receive 
no  other  visitors.  Her  messenger  will  in  the  morning 
apprise  you  of  the  hour,  and  conduct  you  to  the  palace. 
Ah,  I  see  by  your  countenance  how  delighted  you  are.  It 
is  no  wonder. " 

"  I  am  delighted,  indeed, "  said  I ;  "  that  is  a  part  of  my 
feeling,  but  not  the  whole  of  it.  I  cannot,  accustomed 
even  as  I  have  been  to  associate  with  the  high  in  rank  and 
intellect  in  various  countries,  without  some  inward  per 
turbation,  think  of  meeting,  for  the  first  time,  so  remark 
able  a  person,  one  whose  name  is  well  known  not  only 
throughout  Asia  but  the  world;  and  whose  genius  and 


78  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

virtues  are  the  theme  of  universal  wonder  and  praise. 
Then,  Fausta,  Zenobia  is  a  woman,  and  a  woman  inspires 
an  awe  which  man  never  does ;  and  what  is  more  yet,  she 
is  of  a  marvellous  beauty,  and  before  that  most  perfect  work 
of  the  gods,  a  beautiful  woman,  I  am  apt  to  be  awkward 
and  dumb,  at  the  least  —  which  perhaps  is  it  —  made  to 
think  too  much  of  myself  to  acquit  myself  well.  You 
may  think  that  I  exaggerate  these  feelings.  Possibly  I  do. 
Certainly  they  are  not  of  such  strength  that  I  do  not  gladly 
seize  upon  the  favour  thus  extended,  and  count  myself 
honoured  and  happy. " 

a  Where,  Lucius,  tell  me  where  you  learned  this  new 
dialect,  which  runs  so  sweetly  when  woman  is  the  theme. 
Sure  am  I  it  is  not  Koman.  Ovid  has  it  not.  Nor  yet  is 
it  Palmyrene.  Do  we  owe  it  to  a  rich  invention  of  your 
own?" 

"  Fausta,  I  am  in  earnest  in  what  I  have  said.  It  is  my 
own  native  dialect  —  instinctive.  Therefore  laugh  not,  but 
give  me  a  lesson  how  I  shall  deport  myself.  Remember  the 
lessons  I  have  so  many  times  given  you  in  Rome,  and  now 
that  you  have  risen  into  the  seat  of  power,  return  them  as 
you  are  bound  to  do. " 

"  Now  are  you  both  little  more  than  two  foolish  children 
but  just  escaped  from  the  nursery,"  cried  Gracchus,  who 
had  been  pacing  up  and  down  the  portico,  little  heeding,  to 
all  appearance,  what  was  going  on.  "  Lucius,  ask  no  ad 
vice  from  that  wild  school -girl.  Listen  to  me,  who  am  a 
councillor,  and  of  age,  and  ought,  if  I  do  not,  to  speak  the 
words  of  wisdom.  Take  along  with  thee  nothing  but  thy 
common  sense  and  an  honest  purpose,  and  then  Venus  her 
self  would  not  daunt  thee,  nor  Rhadamanthus  and  the 
Furies  terrify.  Forget  not,  too,  that  beneath  this  exterior 
covering,  first  of  clothes,  and  then  of  flesh,  there  lies  en 
shrined  in  the  breast  of  Zenobia,  as  of  you  and  me,  a 
human  heart,  and  that  this  is  ever  and  in  all  the  same, 
eternally  responsive  to  the  same  notes,  by  whomsoever 
struck.  This  is  a  great  secret.  Believe,  too,  that  in  our 
good  queen  this  heart  is  pure  as  a  child's;  or,  if  I  may  use 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  79 

another  similitude,  and  you  can  understand  it,  pure  as  a 
Christian's, — rather,  perhaps  as  a  Christian's  ought  to  be. 
Take  this  also,  that  the  high  tremble  to  meet  the  low,  as 
often  as  the  low  to  meet  the  high.  Now  ask  no  more 
counsel  of  Fausta,  but  digest  what  the  oracle  has  given 
out,  and  which  now  for  the  night  is  silent. " 

In  this  sportive  mood  we  separated. 

At  the  appointed  hour  on  the  following  day  the  expected 
messenger  appeared,  and  announcing  the  queen's  pleasure 
that  I  should  attend  her  at  the  palace,  conducted  me  there 
with  as  much  of  state  as  if  I  had  been  Aurelian's  ambassador. 

On  arriving  at  the  palace  of  the  queen,  I  was  ushered  into 
an  apartment,  not  large,  but  of  exquisite  architecture,  fin 
ished  and  furnished  in  the  Persian  taste,  where  sat  Zenobia 
and  Julia.  At  the  feet  of  the  queen,  and  supporting  them 
upon  an  embroidered  cushion  of  silk,  there  lay  crouched  a 
beautiful  Indian  slave.  It  was  her  office  to  bear  that  light 
and  pretty  burden ;  it  seemed  to  be  her  pleasure  too ;  for 
she  was  ever  waving  round  it  in  playful  manner  her  jew 
elled  fingers,  casting  upward  to  her  mistress  frequent  glances 
of  most  affectionate  regard. 

"  Noble  Piso, "  said  the  queen,  after  I  had  approached  and 
saluted  her  in  the  appointed  manner,  "  it  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  greet  one  of  your  ancient  name  in  Palmyra.  I 
seem  already  acquainted  with  you  through  my  fast  friends 
Gracchus  and  his  bright  daughter.  You  have  lost  nothing, 
I  am  sure,  in  coming  to  us  through  their  lips ;  and  if  any 
lips  are  honest  and  true,  it  is  theirs.  We  welcome  you  to 
the  city  of  the  desert.  " 

"  Great  queen, "  I  replied,  "  it  is  both  a  pleasure  and  a 
pain  to  find  myself  in  your  brilliant  capital.  I  left  Eome 
upon  a  melancholy  errand,  which  I  have  as  yet  but  half 
accomplished.  Till  success  shall  crown  it,  I  can  but  half 
enjoy  the  novel  scenes,  full  of  interest  and  beauty,  which 
your  kingdom  and  city  present.  It  was  to  rescue  a  brother 
—  if  I  may  speak  for  one  moment  of  myself  —  held  in  cap 
tivity  since  the  disaster  of  Valerian,  that  I  set  sail  from 
Italy,  and  am  now  a  dweller  in  Palmyra.  From  this  point 


80  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

I  persuaded  myself  I  could  best  operate  for  his  deliverance. 
My  first  impulse  was  to  throw  myself  at  your  feet,  and  ask 
of  you  both  counsel  and  aid. " 

"  They  should  have  been  gladly  yours,  very  heartily  yours. 
It  was  a  foul  deed  of  Sapor  —  and  a  sad  fate,  that  of  the 
great  Censor,  and  of  your  father,  the  good  Cneius  Piso. 
And  yet  I  see  not  much  that  I  could  have  done. " 

"  Kef  use  not  my  thanks, "  said  I,  "  for  the  expression  of 
so  generous  sentiments.  I  am  sure  I  should  have  shared 
a  goodness  of  which  all  seem  to  partake,  had  I  thought  it 
right  and  necessary  to  appeal  to  you.  But  I  was  soon 
convinced,  by  the  arguments  of  both  Gracchus  and  Fausta, 
that  my  chance  of  success  was  greater  as  a  private  than  as 
a  public  enterprise.  And  happy  am  I  to  be  able  to  say 
that  I  have  found  and  employed  an  emissary,  who,  if  the 
business  be  capable  of  accomplishment  by  human  endeav 
ours,  will,  with  more  likelihood  than  any  other  that  could 
easily  be  named,  accomplish  it.  Aurelian  himself  could 
not  here  do  as  much  nor  as  well  as  Isaac  of  Eome. " 

"  I  believe, "  said  Zenobia,  "  you  will  readily  agree  with 
me  in  the  opinion,  that  Eome  has  never  respected  herself 
so  little  as  in  her  neglect  of  Valerian  and  his  fellow-suf 
ferers.  But  for  the  scathing  got  from  our  arm,  the  proud 
Persian  had  come  out  of  that  encounter  with  nothing  but 
laurels.  We,  thanks  to  the  bravery  and  accomplished  art 
of  Odenatus,  tore  off  some  of  those  laurels,  and  left  upon 
the  body  of  the  Great  King  the  marks  of  blows  which  smart 
yet.  This  Indian  girl  at  my  feet  was  of  the  household  of 
Sapor, —  a  slave  of  one  of  those  women  of  whom  we  took  a 
tentful.  The  shame  of  this  loss  yet  rankles  deep  in  the 
heart  of  the  king.  But  should  Eome  have  dealt  so  by  her 
good  emperor  and  her  brave  soldiers  ?  Ought  she  to  have 
left  it  to  a  then  new  and  small  power  to  take  vengeance  on 
her  mean,  base-minded,  yet  powerful  foe  ?  It  is  not  even 
yet  too  late,  methinks,  for  her  to  stir  herself,  were  it  only 
to  rescue  one  of  the  noble  house  of  Piso.  Perhaps  it  may 
be  with  some  intent  of  this  kind  that  we  hear  rumours  of 
an  Asiatic  expedition.  Aurelian,  we  learn,  having  wearied 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  81 

himself  with  the  victory  in  Gaul  and  Germany,  turns  his 
thoughts  toward  the  East.  What  can  his  aim  be  if  not 
Persia?  But  I  truly  rejoice  that,  through  efforts  of  your 
own,  you  have  so  good  prospect  of  seeing  again  your  cap 
tive  brother.  * 

"  I  have  no  knowledge  of  the  purposes  of  the  Eoman  em 
peror,  "  I  replied,  "  but  such  as  is  common  to  all.  Though 
honoured  with  the  friendship  of  Aurelian,  I  am  not  a  poli 
tical  confidant.  I  can  only  conjecture  touching  his  designs 
from  my  acquaintance  with  his  character,  and  the  features 
of  the  policy  he  has  adopted  and  avowed  as  that  which  is 
to  govern  his  administration.  And  this  policy  is  that 
which  has  been  acted  upon  by  so  many  of  those  who  be 
fore  him  have  been  raised  to  the  head  of  our  nation ;  namely 
this,  that  west  of  the  Euphrates,  to  the  farthest  limits  of 
Spain  and  Gaul,  embracing  all  the  shores  of  the  Mediterra 
nean  with  their  thickly-scattered  nations,  there  shall  be 
but  one  empire,  and  of  that  one  empire  but  one  head.  It  is 
the  fixed  purpose  of  Aurelian  to  restore  to  the  empire  the 
unity  by  which  it  was  distinguished  and  blessed  under  the 
two  Antonines.  And  already  his  movements  in  Gaul  show 
that  his  practice  is  to  conform  to  his  theory.  I  feel  that 
you  will  pardon,  nay,  that  you  will  commend  me,  for  the 
plainness  with  which  I  impart  such  knowledge  as  I  may 
possess.  It  will  be  to  me  the  dearest  happiness  if  I  can 
subserve  in  any  way,  consistently  with  my  duty  to  Rome, 
the  interests  of  Palmyra  and  her  queen. " 

"  Roman, "  said  Zenobia,  in  reply,  "  I  honour  your  frank 
ness,  and  thank  you  for  your  faith  in  my  generosity.  It  is 
not,  I  assure  you,  misplaced.  I  am  glad  to  know  from  so 
authentic  a  source  the  policy  of  Aurelian.  I  surmised  as 
much  before.  All  that  I  have  thought  will  come  true. 
The  rumours  which  are  afloat  are  without  foundation. 
Your  emperor  understands  that  I  have  a  policy  as  well  as 
he,  and  a  fixed  purpose  as  well  as  he.  I  will  never  fall 
from  what  I  have  been,  but  into  ruin  final  and  complete. 
I  have  lived  a  sovereign  queen,  and  so  I  will  die.  The  son 
of  Valerian  received  Odenatus  and  Zenobia  as  partners  in 


82  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  empire.  We  were  representatives  of  Home  in  the  East 
Our  dignities  and  our  titles  were  those  of  Gallienus.  It 
were  small  boasting  to  say  that  they  were  worn  not  less 
worthily  here  than  in  Home.  And  this  association  with 
Kome  —  I  sought  it  not.  It  was  offered  as  a  tribute  to  our 
greatness.  Shall  it  be  dissolved  at  the  will  of  Aurelian,  — 
and  Palmyra,  no  longer  needed  as  a  scourge  for  the  great 
king,  be  broken  down  into  a  tributary  province,  an  obscure 
appendage  of  your  greatness  ?  May  the  gods  forsake  me 
that  moment  I  am  false  to  my  country !  I  too  am  ambi 
tious  as  well  as  Aurelian.  And  let  him  be  told  that  I 
stipulate  for  a  full  partnership  of  the  Roman  power, —  my 
sons  to  bear  the  name  and  rank  of  Caesar, —  or  the  tie  which 
unites  Palmyra  to  Rome  is  at  once  and  forever  sundered, 
and  she  stands  before  the  world  an  independent  kingdom, 
to  make  good  as  she  may,  by  feats  of  arms,  her  claims  to 
that  high  dignity ;  and  the  arms  which  have  prevailed  from 
the  Nile  to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  from  the  Euphrates 
to  the  Mediterranean,  and  have  triumphed  more  than 
once  over  the  pride  and  power  of  Persia,  may  be  trusted 
in  any  encounter,  if  the  fates  should  so  ordain,  with 
even  Rome  herself.  The  conqueror  of  Egypt  would,  I 
believe,  run  a  not  ignoble  tilt  with  the  conqueror  of  a 
Gallic  province. " 

"  Dearest  mother, "  said  the  Princess  Julia,  in  a  voice 
full  of  earnest  entreaty,  "  do  not,  do  not  give  way  to  such 
thoughts.  Heed  not  these  lying  rumours.  Trust  in  the 
magnanimity  of  Aurelian.  We  make  the  virtue  we  believe 
in.  Let  it  not  reach  his  ears  that  you  have  doubted  him. 
I  can  see  no  reason  why  he  should  desire  to  disturb  the 
harmony  that  has  so  long  reigned, — and  Aurelian  is  no 
madman.  What  could  he  gain  by  a  warlike  expedition 
which  a  few  words  could  not  gain  ?  Noble  Piso,  if  your 
great  emperor  would  but  speak  before  he  acts  —  if,  indeed, 
any  purpose  like  that  which  is  attributed  to  him  has  en 
tered  his  mind  —  a  world  of  evil  and  suffering  and  crime 
might  possibly  be  saved.  Zenobia,  though  ambitious,  is 
reasonable  and  patient,  and  will  listen  as  becomes  a  phi- 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  83 

losopher  and  a  lover  of  her  people,  to  anything  he  should 
say.  It  were  a  noble  act  of  friendship  to  press  upon  him 
the  policy,  as  well  as  the  virtue,  of  moderation. " 

Zenobia  gave  a  mother's  smile  of  love  to  her  daughter, 
whose  countenance,  while  she  uttered  these  few  words,  was 
brilliant  with  the  beauty  of  strong  emotion. 

"  No  act  of  friendship  like  this,  lady, "  said  I,  "  shall  be 
wanting  on  my  part.  If  I  have  any  influence  over  the 
mind  of  Aurelian,  it  shall  be  exerted  to  serve  the  cause  of 
peace.  I  have  dear  friends  in  Palmyra,  and  this  short 
residence  among  her  people  has  bound  me  to  them  very 
closely.  It  would  grieve  me  sorely  to  feel  that,  as  a  Koman 
and  a  lover  of  my  country,  I  must  needs  break  these  so 
lately  knitted  bonds  of  affection.  But,  I  am  obliged  to  say 
it,  I  am  now  full  of  apprehension,  lest  no  efforts  of  mine, 
or  of  any,  may  have  power  to  avert  the  calamities  which 
impend.  The  scene  I  was  witness  of  but  so  few  hours 
ago,  seems  to  me  now  to  cut  off  all  hope  of  an  amicable 
adjustment. " 

Julia's  countenance  fell.  The  air  of  pride  in  Zenobia 
mounted  higher  and  higher. 

"  And  what  was  it  I  did  ? "  said  Zenobia.  "  Do  I  not 
stand  upon  the  records  of  the  Senate,  Augusta  of  the  Koman 
empire?  Was  not  the  late  renowned  Odenatus,  Augustus 
by  the  decree  of  that  same  Senate  ?  And  was  I  not  then 
right  to  call  my  own  sons  by  their  rightful  title  of  Caesar, 
and  invest  them  with  the  appropriate  robe,  and  even 
show  them  to  the  people  as  their  destined  rulers  ?  I  am 
yet  to  learn  that  in  aught  I  have  offended  against  any  fair 
construction  of  the  Eoman  law.  And  unless  I  may  thus 
stand  in  equal  honour  with  other  partners  of  this  empire, 
asking  and  receiving  nothing  as  favour,  I  sever  myself  and 
my  kingdom  from  it.  " 

"  But, "  said  Julia,  in  her  soft  persuasive  voice  whose 
very  tones  were  enough  to  change  the  harshest  sentiment 
to  music,  "  why  put  at  hazard  the  certain  good  we  now 
enjoy,  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  this  fair  realm,  for  what 
at  best  is  but  a  shadow, — a  name?  What  is  it  to  you  or 


84  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

me  that  Timolaus,  Herennianus,  and  Vabalathus  be  hailed 
by  the  pretty  style  of  Caesar  ?  For  me  at  least,  and  so  I 
think  for  all  who  love  you,  it  is  enough  that  they  are 
the  sons  of  Zenobia.  Who  shall  heap  more  upon  that 
honour  ? " 

"  Julia, "  replied  the  queen,  "  as  the  world  deems  —  and 
we  are  in  the  world  and  of  it  —  honour  and  greatness  lie 
not  in  those  things  which  are  truly  honourable  and  great ; 
not  in  learning  or  genius,  else  were  Longinus  upon  this 
throne,  and  I  his  waiting-woman ;  not  in  action,  else  were 
the  great  Zabdas  king;  not  in  merit,  else  were  many  a 
dame  of  Palmyra  where  I  am,  and  I  a  patient  household 
drudge.  Birth  and  station  and  power  are  before  these. 
Men  bow  before  names  and  sceptres  and  robes  of  office, 
lower  than  before  the  gods  themselves.  Nay,  here  in  the 
East,  power  itself  were  a  shadow,  without  its  tinsel  trap 
pings.  'T  is  vain  to  stand  against  the  world.  I  am  one  of 
the  general  herd.  What  they  honour,  I  crave.  This  coro 
net  of  pearl,  this  gorgeous  robe,  this  golden  chair,  this 
human  footstool,  in  the  eye  of  a  severe  judgment  may  sig 
nify  but  little.  Zeno  or  Diogenes  might  smile  upon  them 
with  contempt.  But  so  thinks  not  the  world.  It  is  no 
secret  that  in  Timolaus,  Herennianus,  and  Vabalathus 
dwells  not  the  wisdom  of  Longinus,  nor  the  virtue  of 
Valerian.  What  then  so  crazed  the  assembled  people  of 
Palmyra,  but  the  purple-coloured  mantle  of  the  Eoman 
Caesar  ?  I  am,  for  that,  fathoms  deeper  in  the  great  heart 
of  my  people.  These  are  poor  opinions,  so  thou  judgest, 
Roman,  for  the  pupil  of  the  chief  philosopher  of  our  age, 
and  through  him,  skilled  in  all  the  learning  of  the  Greeks. 
But  forget  not  that  I  am  an  Oriental  and  —  a  woman.  This 
double  nature  works  at  my  heart  with  more  than  all  the 
power  of  the  schools.  Who  and  what  so  strong  as  the 
divinity  within ! " 

This  is  a  poor  record,  my  Curtius,  of  what  fell  from  this 
extraordinary  woman.  Would  that  I  could  set  down  the 
noble  sentiments  which,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  that  I 
could  not  approye,  came  from  her  lips  in  a  language  worthy 


THE  SPORTS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRE.  85 

her  great  teacher !  Would  that  I  could  transfer  to  my  pages 
the  touching  eloquence  of  the  divine  Julia,  whose  mind,  I 
know  not  how  it  is,  moves  in  a  higher  world  than  ours. 
Sometimes,  nay,  many  times,  her  thoughts,  strangely 
enough,  raised  up  before  me  the  image  of  the  Christian 
Probus,  of  whom  I  had  till  then  scarcely  thought  since  our 
parting.  For  a  long  time  was  this  interview  continued,  — 
an  interview,  to  me,  more  stirring  than  any  other  of  my 
life,  and  owing  to  the  part  I  was  obliged  to  take,  almost 
painfully  so.  Much  that  I  said  could  not  but  have  grated 
harshly  upon  the  proud  and  ambitious  spirit  of  Zenobia. 
But  I  shrank  from  nothing  that  in  the  least  degree  might 
tend  to  shake  her  in  the  designs  which  now  possess  and 
agitate  her,  and  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  cannot  be  carried 
out  without  great  danger  to  the  safety  or  existence  of  her 
kingdom ;  though  I  cannot  but  say  that  if  a  rupture  should 
occur  between  Palmyra  and  Eome,  imprudence  might  in 
deed  be  charged  upon  Zenobia,  but  guilt  —  deep  guilt  — 
would  lie  at  the  door  of  Aurelian.  It  was  a  great  aid 
that  Julia,  in  all  I  said,  was  my  ally.  Her  assent  gave 
double  force  to  every  argument  I  used ;  for  Zenobia  trusts 
her  as  a  sister, —  I  had  almost  said  reveres  her  as  a  divinity. 
Beautiful  it  was  to  witness  their  freedom  and  their  love. 
The  gods  avert  every  calamity  from  their  heads ! 

When  we  had  in  this  manner,  as  I  have  said,  a  long  time 
discoursed,  Zenobia,  at  length  rising  from  her  seat,  said  to 
me,  "  Now  do  we  owe  you  some  fair  return,  noble  Piso,  for 
the  patience  with  which  you  have  listened  to  our  treason 
able  words.  If  it  please  you,  accompany  us  now  to  some 
other  part  of  our  palace,  and  it  will  be  strange  if  we  cannot 
find  something  worthy  of  your  regard.  " 

So  saying,  we  bent  our  way  in  company,  idly  talking  of 
such  things  as  offered,  to  a  remote  part  of  the  vast  building, 
passing  through  and  lingering  here  and  there  in  many  a, 
richly-wrought  hall  and  room,  till,  turning  suddenly  into 
a  saloon  of  Egyptian  device,  where  we  heard  the  sound  of 
voices,  I  found  myself  in  the  presence  of  Gracchus  and 
Fausta,  Longinus  and  Zabdas,  with  a  few  others  of  the 


86  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

chief  citizens  of  Palmyra.  I  need  not  say  how  delighted  I 
was.  It  was  a  meeting  never  to  be  forgotten.  But  it  was 
in  the  evening  of  this  day,  walking  in  the  gardens  of  the 
palace  between  Julia  and  Fausta,  that  I  banqueted  upon  the 
purest  pleasure  of  my  life. 


I 


COURTYARD  or  A  PALACE. 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          87 


LETTER  V. 

AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS. 

MOONLIGHT  IN  THE  PALACE  GARDENS.  —  A  CONVERSATION. — 
LONGINUS  DISCOURSES  OF  A  FUTURE  LIFE.  —  CHRISTIANITY 
AT  PALMYRA.  —  THE  ROYAL  CHILDREN.  —  A  WHITE  ELEPHANT. 
—  FAUSTULA. 

YOU  could  not  but  suppose,  my  Curtius,  when  you  came 
to  the  end  of  my  last  letter,  that  I  should  soon  write 
again,  and  not  leave  you  ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which 
I  passed  the  evening  at  the  palace  of  Zenobia.  Accordingly, 
knowing  that  you  would  desire  this,  I  had  no  sooner  tied 
and  sealed  my  epistle,  than  I  sat  down  to  give  you  those 
minute  recollections  of  incident  and  of  conversation  in 
which  you  and  Lucilia  both  so  much  delight,  and  which, 
indeed,  in  the  present  instance  are  not  unimportant  in  their 
bearing  upon  my  future  lot.  But  this  I  shall  leave  to  your 
own  conjectures.  A  tempest  of  rain  makes  me  a  necessary 
prisoner  to  the  house,  but  the  pleasant  duty  of  writing  to 
you  spreads  sunshine  on  all  within  my  room.  I  trust  in 
the  gods  that  you  are  well 

Of  the  banquet  in  that  Egyptian  hall,  and  its  immedi 
ately  attendant  circumstances,  I  need  not  tell  you.  It  was 
like  other  feasts  of  ceremony,  where  the  niceties  of  form 
constantly  obtrude  themselves,  and  check  too  much  the  flow 
of  conversation.  Then,  too,  one's  mind  is  necessarily  dis 
tracted,  where  the  feast  is  sumptuous,  by  the  rarity  of  the 
dishes,  the  richness  of  the  service,  and  the  pomp  and  stir 
of  the  attendance.  Never  was  it  my  fortune  in  Eome  to 
recline  at  a  table  of  more  imperial  splendour.  For  Lucilia 's 
sake,  I  will  just  say  that  the  service  was  of  pure  gold,  most 
elaborately  carved,  and  covered  with  designs  illustrative 


88          ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

of  points  of  the  Egyptian  annals.  Our  wine-cups  were  also 
of  gold,  enriched  with  precious  stones,  and  for  each  kind  of 
wine  a  different  cup,  set  with  jewels  typical  of  the  char 
acter  of  the  wine  for  which  it  was  intended.  These  were 
by  the  hand  of  Demetrius.  It  was  in  all  respects  a  Eoman 
meal  in  its  fashions  and  conduct,  though  the  table  was 
spread  with  many  delicacies  peculiar  to  the  Orientals.  The 
walls  and  ceiling  of  the  room,  and  the  carpets,  represented, 
in  the  colours  of  the  most  eminent  Greek  and  Persian  ar 
tists,  scenes  of  the  life  and  reign  of  the  great  queen  of 
Egypt,  of  whom  Zenobia  reckons  herself  a  descendant. 
Cleopatra  was  all  around,  above,  and  beneath.  Music  at 
intervals,  as  the  repast  drew  toward  a  close,  streamed  in 
from  invisible  performers,  and  added  a  last  and  crowning 
charm.  The  conversation  was  light  and  sportful,  taking 
once  or  twice  only,  and  accidentally  as  it  were,  a  political 
turn.  These  graceful  Palmyrenes  act  a  winning  part  in  all 
the  high  courtesies  of  life ;  and  nothing  could  be  more  per 
fect  than  their  demeanour,  free  and  frank,  yet  never  forgetful 
of  the  presence  of  Zenobia,  nor  even  of  me,  a  representative 
in  some  manner  of  the  majesty  of  Rome. 

The  moon,  nearly  at  her  full,  was  already  shining  bright 
in  the  heavens  when  we  left  the  tables,  and  walking  first, 
for  a  time,  upon  the  cool  pavements  of  the  porticos  of  the 
palace,  then  descended  to  the  gardens,  and  separating  in 
groups,  moved  away  at  will  among  their  endless  windings. 
Zenobia,  as  if  desiring  some  private  conference  with  her 
great  teacher,  left  us  in  company  with  Longinus.  It  was 
my  good  and  happy  fortune  to  find  myself  in  the  society  of 
Julia  and  Fausta,  with  whom  I  directed  my  steps  toward 
the  remoter  and  more  quiet  parts  of  the  garden ;  for  nearer 
the  palace  there  were  still  to  be  heard  the  sounds  of  merri 
ment,  and  of  the  instruments,  furnishing  a  soft  and  deli 
cious  entertainment  for  such  as  chose  to  remain  longer  in 
the  palace.  Of  the  rest  of  the  company,  some,  like  our 
selves,  wandered  among  the  labyrinthian  walks  of  this  vast 
pleasure-ground,  while  others,  already  weary,  or  satisfied 
with  enjoyment,  returned  early  to  their  homes. 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          89 

The  evening,  shall  I  say  it,  was  worthy  of  the  company 
now  abroad  to  enjoy  it.  A  gentle  breeze  just  swayed  the 
huge  leaves  of  the  —  to  me  —  strange  plants  which  overhung 
the  paths,  and  came,  as  it  here  always  seems  to  come,  laden 
with  a  sweetness  which  in  Eome  it  never  has  unless  added 
by  the  hand  of  Art.  Dian's  face  shone  never  before  so  fair 
and  bright,  and  her  light,  coming  to  us  at  frequent  turns  in 
our  walk,  through  the  spray  of  numerous  fountains,  caused 
them  to  show  like  falling  diamonds.  A  divine  repose 
breathed  over  the  whole  scene.  I  am  sure  our  souls  were 
in  harmony  with  it. 

"  Princess, "  said  I,  "  the  gardens  of  Nero  can  have  pre 
sented  no  scenes  more  beautiful  than  these.  He  who  de 
signed  these  avenues  and  groups  of  flowers  and  trees,  these 
frequent  statues  and  fountains,  bowers  and  mimic  temples, 
and  made  them  bear  to  each  other  these  perfect  proportions 
and  relations,  had  no  less  knowledge,  methinks,  of  the  true 
principles  of  taste,  and  of  the  very  secrets  of  beauty,  than 
the  great  Longinus  himself.  The  beauty  is  so  rare  that  it 
affects  the  mind  almost  like  greatness  itself.  In  truth,  in 
perfect  beauty  there  is  always  that  which  overawes. " 

"  I  cannot  say, "  replied  Julia,  "  that  the  learned  Greek 
was  the  architect  and  designer  of  these  various  forms  of 
beauty.  The  credit,  I  believe,  is  rather  due  to  Periander,  a 
native  Athenian, —  a  man,  it  is  universally  conceded,  of  the 
highest  genius.  Yet  it  is  at  the  same  time  to  be  said  that 
the  mind  of  Longinus  presided  over  the  whole.  And  he 
took  not  less  delight  in  ordering  the  arrangements  of  these 
gardens,  than  he  did  in  composing  that  great  treatise,  not 
long  published,  and  which  you  must  have  seen  before  you 
left  Eome. " 

"  He  is  a  man  of  universal  powers.  You  have  not  failed 
to  observe  his  grace,  not  less  than  his  abilities,  while  we 
were  at  the  tables.  You  have  seen  that  he  can  play  the  part 
of  one  who  would  win  the  regards  of  two  foolish  girls,  as 
well  as  that  of  first  minister  of  a  great  kingdom,  or  that  of 
the  chief  living  representative  and  teacher  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  immortal  Plato.  " 


90  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  For  myself, "  I  replied,  "  I  could  hardly  withdraw  my 
self  from  the  simple  admiration  of  his  noble  head  and  form, 
to  attend,  so  as  to  judge  of  it,  to  what  fell  from  his  lips. 
It  seems  to  me  that  if  a  sculptor  of  his  own  Greece  sought 
for  a  model  of  the  human  figure,  he  could  hope  to  find  none 
so  perfect  as  that  of  Longinus.  " 

"  That  makes  it  the  foolisher  and  stranger, "  said  Fausta, 
"  that  he  should  toil  at  his  toilet  as  he  so  manifestly  does. 
Why  can  he  not  rely,  for  his  power  over  both  men  and 
women,  upon  his  genius  and  his  natural  graces  ?  It  might 
be  well  enough  for  the  Stagyrite  to  deck  his  little  person 
in  fine  clothes,  and  to  cover  his  fingers  with  rings ;  for  I 
believe  there  must  be  something  in  the  outward  appearance 
to  strike  the  mere  sensual  eye,  and  please  it,  either  natural 
or  assumed,  or  else  even  philosophers  might  go  unheeded. 
I  doubt  if  upon  my  fingers  there  be  more,  or  more  glowing, 
rings  than  upon  those  of  Longinus.  To  be  sure,  one  must 
admit  that  his  taste  is  exquisite.  " 

"  In  the  manners  and  dress  of  Longinus, "  said  I,  "  as  well 
as  in  those  of  Aristotle,  we  behold,  I  think,  simply  the 
power  of  custom.  They  were  both,  in  respect  to  such 
things,  in  a  state  of  indifference,  —  the  true  philosophical 
state.  But  what  happened  ?  Both  became  instructors  and 
companions  of  princes,  and  the  inmates  of  royal  palaces. 
Their  manners  and  costume  were  left,  without  a  thought, 
I  will  dare  to  say,  on  their  part,  to  conform  themselves  to 
what  was  around  them.  Would  it  not  have  been  a  more 
glaring  piece  of  vanity,  if,  in  the  palace  of  Philip,  Aristotle 
had  clothed  himself  in  the  garb  of  Diogenes,  or  if  Longinus, 
in  the  presence  of  the  great  Zenobia,  had  appeared  in  the 
sordid  attire  of  Timon  ?  " 

"  I  think  so, "  said  Julia. 

"  Your  explanation  is  a  very  probable  one, "  added  Fausta, 
*  and  had  not  occurred  to  me.  It  is  true  the  courts  may 
have  dressed  them,  and  not  themselves.  But  never,  I  still 
must  think,  did  a  rich  dress  fall  upon  more  willing  shoul 
ders  than  upon  those  of  the  Greek,  —  always  excepting, 
Julia,  Paul  of  Antioch. " 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          91 

"  Ah,  Fausta, "  said  Julia,  "  you  cannot,  do  what  you  will, 
shake  my  faith  in  Paul.  If  I  allow  him  vain  and  luxu 
rious  and  haughty,  I  can  still  separate  the  advocate  from 
the  cause.  You  would  not  condemn  the  doctrine  of  Aris 
totle  on  the  ground  that  he  wore  rings.  Nor  can  I  alto 
gether,  nor  in  part,  that  of  Paul,  because  he  rolls  through 
the  city  in  a  gilded  chariot,  with  the  attendance  of  a  prince. 
I  may  hlame  or  despise  him,  but  not,  therefore,  reject  his 
teaching.  That  has  a  defence  independent  of  him.  Policy 
and  necessity  of  time  and  place  have  compelled  him  to 
much  which  his  reason  disapproves.  This  he  has  given 
me  to  believe,  and  has  conjured  me  on  this,  as  on  all  sub 
jects,  to  yield  my  mind  only  to  evidence,  apart  from  all 
personal  considerations.  But  I  did  not  mean  to  turn  our 
conversation  in  this  direction.  Here,  Piso,  have  we  now 
arrived  in  our  walk  at  my  favourite  retreat.  This  is  my 
bower  for  meditation,  and  frequently  for  reading  too.  Let 
us  take  this  seat.  Observe  how,  through  these  openings, 
we  catch  some  of  the  prominent  points  of  the  city.  There 
is  the  obelisk  of  Cleopatra ;  there  the  tower  of  Antonine ; 
there  the  Eygptian  Pyramid ;  and  there  a  column  going  up 
in  honour  of  Aurelian ;  and  in  this  direction,  the  whole 
outline  of  the  palace.  " 

"  Yet  are  we  at  the  same  time  shut  out  from  all  the 
world, "  said  I.  "  Your  hours  must  fly  swiftly  here.  But 
are  your  musings  always  solitary  ones  ?  " 

*  Oh  no,  I  am  not  so  craving  as  that  of  my  own  society ; 
sometimes  I  am  joined  by  my  mother,  and  not  seldom  by 
my  sweet  Fausta  here, "  said  she,  at  the  same  time  affec 
tionately  drawing  Fausta 's  arm  within  her  own,  and  clasp 
ing  her  hand ;  "  we  do  not  agree,  indeed,  upon  all  the 
subjects  which  we  discuss,  but  we  still  agree  in  our  love. " 

"  Indeed  we  do,  and  may  the  gods  make  it  perpetual ;  may 
death  only  divide  us !  "  said  Fausta,  with  fervour. 

"  And  may  the  divinity  who  sits  supreme  above, "  said 
Julia,  "  grant  that  over  that  not  even  death  shall  have 
power.  If  anything  makes  existence  valuable,  it  is  love. 
If  I  should  define  my  happiness,  I  would  say  it  in  one  word, 


92  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Love.  Without  Zenobia,  what  should  I  be  ?  I  cannot  con 
ceive  of  existence  deprived  of  her,  or  of  her  regard.  Lov 
ing  her  and  Fausta  and  Longinus,  as  I  do,  —  not  to  forget 
Livia  and  the  dear  Faustula,  — and  beloved  by  all  in  return, 
and  my  happiness  scarcely  seems  to  admit  of  addition. " 

"  With  what  pain, "  said  I,  "  does  one  contemplate  the 
mere  possibility  that  affections  such  as  these  are  to  last 
only  for  the  few  years  which  make  up  the  sum  of  human 
life.  Must  I  believe,  must  you  believe,  that  all  this  fair 
scene  is  to  end  forever  at  death  ?  That  you,  bound  to  each 
other  by  so  many  ties,  are  to  be  separated,  and  both  of  you  to 
be  divided  from  Zenobia,  and  all  of  us  to  fall  into  nothing 
ness,  silence,  and  darkness  ?  Kather  than  that,  would  that 
the  life  we  now  enjoy  might  be  immortal !  Here  are  beau 
tiful  objects  among  which  one  might  be  willing  to  live 
forever.  I  am  never  weary  of  the  moon  and  her  soft  light, 
nor  of  the  balmy  air,  nor  of  the  bright  greens  of  the  herbage, 
nor  of  the  forms  of  plain  and  mountain,  nor  of  the  human 
beings,  infinite  in  the  varieties  of  their  character,  who  sur 
round  me  wherever  I  go.  Here  now  have  I  wandered  far 
from  my  home,  yet  in  what  society  and  in  what  scenes  do 
I  find  myself  ?  The  same  heaven  is  above  me,  the  same 
forms  of  vegetable  life  around  me,  and  what  is  more,  friends 
already  dear  as  those  I  have  left  behind.  In  this  very  spot, 
were  it  but  as  an  humble  attendant  upon  the  greatness  of 
the  queen,  could  I  be  content  to  dwell.  " 

*  Truly,  I  think  you  might, "  cried  Fausta ;  "  having 
chosen  for  yourself  so  elysian  a  spot,  and  filled  it  with 
such  inhabitants,  it  is  no  great  proof  of  a  contented  spirit 
that  you  should  love  to  inhabit  it.  But  how  many  such 
spots  does  the  world  present;  and  how  many  such  in 
habitants  ?  The  question,  I  think,  is,  would  you  be  ready 
to  accept  the  common  lot  of  man  as  an  immortal  one  ?  I 
can  easily  believe  that  many,  were  they  seated  in  these 
gardens,  and  waited  on  by  attendant  slaves,  and  their  whole 
being  made  soft  and  tranquil,  and  exempt  from  care  and 
fear,  would  say,  '  Insure  me  this,  and  I  ask  no  more. '  For 
myself,  indeed,  I  must  say  it  would  not  be  so.  I  think  it 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          93 

not  even  the  lot  of  Zenobia,  enthroned  as  she  is  in  the  hearts 
of  millions,  nor  yet  thine,  Julia,  beloved  not  less  than 
Zenobia,  would  satisfy  me.  I  have  now  all  that  my  ut 
most  desires  crave.  Yet  is  there  a  part  of  me,  I  know  not 
what  it  is,  nor  where  it  is,  that  is  not  full.  I  confess  my 
self  restless  and  unsatisfied.  No  object,  no  study,  no  pur 
suit,  no  friendship  —  forgive  me,  Julia,"  and  she  kissed 
her  hand, —  "  no  friendship  even  satisfies  and  fills  me. " 

"  I  do  not  wonder, "  said  Julia. 

"  But  how  much  unhappiness  is  there  spread  over  the 
earth !  "  continued  Fausta ;  "  I  and  you  and  Piso,  perhaps, 
too,  are  in  a  state  of  dissatisfaction.  And  yet  we  are 
perched,  as  it  were,  upon  the  loftiest  heights  of  existence. 
How  must  it  be  with  those  who  are  so  far  inferior  to  us  as 
multitudes  are  in  their  means  of  happiness !  From  how 
many  ills  are  we  shielded  which  rain  down  sharp-pointed, 
like  the  hail-storms  of  winter,  upon  the  undefended  heads  of 
the  poor  and  low!  They,  Piso,  would  not,  I  think,  pray 
that  their  lot  might  be  immortal.  " 

"  Indeed  I  think  not, "  said  I.  "  Yet,  perhaps,  their  lot 
is  not  so  much  more  miserable  than  yours  as  the  difference 
in  outward  condition  might  lead  one  to  think.  Eemember 
the  slave  and  the  poor  do  not  feel  as  you  would  suddenly 
reduced  to  their  state.  The  Arab  enjoys  his  sleep  upon  his 
tent-floor,  as  well  as  you,  princess,  beneath  a  canopy  of 
woven  gold,  and  his  frugal  meal  of  date  or  pulse  tastes  as 
sweet,  as  to  you  do  dainties  fetched  from  Eome,  or  fished 
from  the  Indian  Seas;  and  eating  and  sleeping  make  up 
much  of  life.  Then  the  hearts  of  the  great  are  corroded  by 
cares  and  solicitudes  which  never  visit  the  humble.  Still, 
I  do  not  deny  that  their  condition  is  not  far  less  enviable 
than  ours.  The  slave  who  may  be  lashed  and  tormented 
and  killed  at  his  master's  pleasure,  drinks  from  a  cup  of 
which  we  never  so  much  as  taste.  But  over  the  whole  of 
life,  and  throughout  every  condition  of  it,  there  are  scat 
tered  evils  and  sorrows  which  pierce  every  heart  with  pain. 
I  look  upon  all  conditions  as  in  part  evil.  It  is  only  by 
selecting  circumstances,  and  excluding  ills  which  are  the 


94  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

lot  of  all,  that  I  could  ask  to  live  forever,  even  in  the 
gardens  of  Zenobia. " 

"  I  do  not  think  we  differ  much,  then, "  said  Fausta,  "  in 
what  we  think  of  human  life.  I  hold  the  highest  lot  to  be 
unsatisfying.  You  admit  all  are  so,  but  have  shown  me 
that  there  is  a  nearer  approach  to  an  equality  of  happiness 
than  I  had  supposed,  though  evil  weighs  upon  all.  How 
the  mind  longs  and  struggles  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of 
its  being !  How  imperfect  and  without  aim  does  life  seem ! 
Everything  beside  man  seems  to  reach  its  utmost  perfec 
tion.  Man  alone  appears  a  thing  incomplete  and  faulty. " 

"  And  what, "  said  I,  "  would  make  him  appear  to  you  a 
thing  perfect  and  complete?  What  change  should  you 
suggest  ?  " 

"  That  which  rather  may  be  called  an  addition, "  replied 
Fausta,  "  and  which,  if  I  err  not,  all  wise  and  good  men 
desire,  —  the  assurance  of  immortality.  Nothing  is  sweet ; 
every  cup  is  bitter, —  that  which  we  are  this  moment  drink 
ing  from,  bitterest  of  all,  without  this.  Of  this  I  inces 
santly  think  and  dream,  and  am  still  tossed  in  a  sea  of 
doubt. " 

*  You  have  read  Plato  ?  *  said  I. 

"  Yes,  truly, "  she  replied ;  "  but  I  found  little  there  to 
satisfy  me.  I  have  enjoyed,  too,  the  frequent  conversa 
tion  of  Longinus,  and  yet  it  is  the  same.  Would  that  he 
were  now  here!  The  hour  is  serene,  and  the  air,  which 
comes  in  so  gently  from  the  west,  such  as  he  loves. " 

As  Fausta  uttered  these  words,  our  eyes  at  the  same  mo 
ment  caught  the  forms  of  Zenobia  and  Longinus,  as  they 
emerged  from  a  walk  very  near,  but  made  dark  by  over 
hanging  and  embowering  roses.  We  immediately  advanced 
toward  them,  and  begged  them  to  join  us. 

"  We  are  conversing, "  said  Julia,  "  upon  such  things  as 
you  both  love.  Come  and  sit  now  with  us,  and  let  us  know 
what  you  can  say  upon  the  same  themes. " 

"  We  will  sit  with  you  gladly, "  said  the  queen ;  "  at  least 
for  myself  I  may  say  it,  for  I  am  sure  that  with  you  I  shall 
find  some  other  subjects  discussed  beside  perplexing  affairs 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          95 

of  state.  When  alone  with  Longinus  —  as  but  now  —  our 
topic  is  ever  the  same.  " 

"If  the  subject  of  our  discourse,  however,  be  ever  the 
same,"  said  the  Greek,"  we  have  this  satisfaction  in  reflect 
ing  upon  it,  that  it  is  one  that  in  its  nature  is  real  and 
tangible.  The  well-being  of  a  nation  is  not  an  undefined 
and  shadowy  topic,  like  so  many  of  those  which  occupy  the 
time  and  thoughts  of  even  the  wise.  I  too,  however,  shall 
gladly  bear  a  part  in  whatever  theme  may  engross  the 
thoughts  of  Julia,  Fausta,  and  Piso. " 

With  these  words,  we  returned  to  the  seats  we  had  left, 
which  were  not  within  the  arbour  of  Julia,  but  were  the 
marble  steps  which  led  to  it.  There  we  placed  ourselves, 
one  above  and  one  beside  another,  as  happened,  —  Zenobia 
sitting  between  Fausta  and  Julia,  I  at  the  feet  of  Julia,  and 
Longinus  on  the  same  step  with  myself,  and  next  to  Fausta. 
I  could  hardly  believe  that  Zenobia  was  now  the  same  per 
son  before  whom  I  had  in  the  morning,  with  little  agita 
tion,  prostrated  myself  after  the  manner  of  the  Persian 
ceremonial.  She  seemed  rather  like  a  friend  whom  I  both 
loved  and  revered.  The  majesty  of  the  queen  was  gone ; 
there  remained  only  the  native  dignity  of  beauty  and  good 
ness  and  intellect,  which,  though  it  inspires  reverence,  yet 
is  there  nothing  slavish  in  the  feeling.  It  differs  in  degree 
only  from  that  sentiment  which  we  entertain  toward  the 
gods ;  it  raises  rather  than  depresses. 

"  We  were  speaking, "  said  Julia,  resuming  the  subject 
which  had  engaged  us,  "  of  life  and  of  man,  —  how  unsatis 
factory  life  is,  and  how  imperfect  and  unfinished,  as  it 
were,  man ;  and  we  agreed,  I  believe,  in  the  opinion  that 
there  can  be  no  true  happiness  without  a  certain  assurance 
of  immortality  —  and  this  we  are  without.  " 

"  I  agree  with  you, "  said  Longinus,  "  in  all  that  you  can 
have  expressed  concerning  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  life, 
regarded  as  a  finite  existence,  and  concerning  the  want  of 
harmony  there  is  between  man  and  the  other  works  of  God, 
if  he  is  mortal;  and  in  this  also,  that  without  the  assur 
ance  of  immortality,  there  can,  to  the  thinking  mind,  be 


96  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

no  true  felicity.  I  only  wonder  that  on  the  last  point 
there  should  exist  in  the  mind  of  any  one  of  you  doubts 
so  serious  as  to  give  you  much  disturbance.  I  cannot,  in 
deed,  feel  so  secure  of  a  future  and  then  unending  existence, 
as  I  am  sure  that  I  live  now.  What  I  am  now,  I  know ; 
concerning  the  future,  I  can  only  believe ;  and  belief  can 
never  possess  the  certainty  of  knowledge.  Still,  of  a  future 
life  I  entertain  no  doubts  that  distress  me.  My  belief  in 
it  is  as  clear  and  strong  as  I  can  well  conceive  belief  in 
things  invisible  and  unexperienced  to  be.  It  is  such  as 
makes  me  happy  in  any  thought  or  prospect  of  death. 
Without  it,  and  life  would  appear  to  me  like  nothing  more 
to  be  esteemed  than  a  short,  and  often  troubled  or  terrific 
dream. " 

"  So  I  confess  it  seems  to  me, "  said  Fausta.  "  How 
should  I  bless  the  gods,  if  upon  my  mind  there  could  rest 
a  conviction  of  immortality  strong  like  yours !  The  very 
certainty  with  which  you  speak  seems,  through  the  power 
of  sympathy,  to  have  scattered  some  of  my  doubts.  But, 
alas  !  they  will  soon  return.  * 

"  In  what  you  have  now  said, "  replied  Longinus,  "  and 
in  the  feeling  you  have  expressed  on  this  point,  do  I  found 
one  of  the  strongest  arguments  for  the  immortality  of  the 
soul. " 

"  I  do  not  comprehend  you, "  said  Fausta. 

"  Do  you  not,  Fausta, "  asked  Longinus,  "  intensely  desire 
a  life  after  death  ?  * 

"  I  do  indeed ;  I  have  just  expressed  it.  " 

"  And  do  not  you  too,  Zenobia  and  Piso  and  Julia  ?  " 

"  Surely,  and  with  intensity, "  we  answered ;  "  the  ques 
tion  need  scarcely  be  asked.  " 

"  I  believe  you,  *  resumed  Longinus.  "  You  all  earnestly 
desire  an  immortal  life;  you  perpetually  dwell  upon  the 
thought  of  it.  Is  it  not  so  with  all  who  reflect  at  all  upon 
themselves  ?  Are  there  any  such,  have  there  ever  been  any, 
who  have  not  been  possessed  by  the  same  thoughts  and 
desires,  and  who,  having  been  greatly  comforted  and  sup 
ported  by  them  during  life,  have  not  at  death  relied  upon 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.          97 

them,  and  looked  with  some  good  degree  of  confidence  toward 
a  coming  forth  again  from  death  ?  Now  I  think  it  is  far 
more  reasonable  to  believe  in  another  life,  than  in  the  delu 
siveness  of  these  expectations.  For  I  cannot  suppose  that 
this  universal  expectation  will  be  disappointed,  without 
believing  in  the  wickedness,  nay,  the  infinite  malignity, 
of  the  Supreme  Kuler,  which  my  whole  nature  utterly 
refuses  to  do.  For  what  more  cruel  than  to  create  this  ear 
nest  and  universal  longing,  and  not  gratify  it  ?  Does  it  not 
seem  so  ?  " 

We  all  admitted  it. 

"  This  instinctive  desire, "  continued  Longinus,  "  I  can 
not  but  regard  as  being  implanted  by  the  Being  who  created 
us.  It  can  proceed  from  no  other.  It  is  an  instinct ;  that 
is,  a  suggestion  or  inspiration  of  God.  If  it  could  be  shown 
to  be  a  consequence  of  education,  we  might  refer  it  for  its 
origin  to  ingenious  philosophers.  But  it  exists  where  the 
light  of  philosophy  has  never  shone.  There  have  been 
none,  of  whom  history  has  preserved  even  obscurest  tradi 
tions,  who  have  wanted  this  instinct.  It  is  then  the  very 
inspiration  of  the  Divinity,  and  will  not  be  disappointed. 
I  trust  much  to  these  tendencies  of  our  nature.  This  is  the 
best  ground  for  our  belief  of  a  God.  The  arguments  of  the 
schools  have  never  succeeded  in  establishing  the  truth,  even 
to  the  conviction  of  a  philosophical  mind,  much  less  a  com 
mon  one.  Yet  the  truth  is  universally  admitted.  God,  I 
think,  has  provided  for  so  important  an  article  of  faith  in 
the  structure  of  our  minds.  He  has  not  left  it  to  chance, 
or  special  revelation.  So,  too,  the  determinations  of  the 
mind  concerning  virtue  and  vice,  right  and  wrong,  being 
for  the  most  part  so  accordant  throughout  the  whole  race, — 
these  also  I  hold  to  be  instinctive. " 

"  I  can  think  of  nothing, "  said  Fausta,  *  to  urge  against 
your  argument.  It  adds  some  strength,  I  cannot  but  con 
fess,  to  what  belief  I  had  before.  I  trust  you  have  yet 
more  that  you  can  impart.  Do  not  fear  that  we  shall  be 
dull  listeners. " 

"  I  sit  here  a  willing,  patient  learner, "  said  Zenobia,  "  of 

7 


98  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

any  one  who  will  pour  new  light  into  my  mind.  Go  on, 
Longinus. " 

"  To  such  a  school, "  said  he,  "  how  can  I  refuse  to  speak  ? 
Let  me  ask  you,  then,  if  you  have  never  been  perplexed  by 
the  evils  of  life,  such  as  either  you  have  yourselves  expe 
rienced,  or  such  as  you  have  witnessed  ?  " 

"  I  have  indeed, "  said  Fausta,  "  and  have  deeply  deplored 
them.  But  how  are  they  connected  with  a  future  existence  ?  " 

"  Thus,  *  replied  Longinus ;  "  as  in  the  last  case,  the 
benevolence  of  the  Supreme  God  cannot  be  sustained  with 
out  the  admission  of  the  reality  of  a  future  life.  Nor  only 
that,  but,  it  seems  to  me,  direct  proof  may  be  adduced  from 
the  existence  and  universality  of  these  evils  to  establish  the 
blackest  malignity.  So  that  to  me,  belief  in  a  future  ex 
istence  is  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty  of  admitting  the 
idea  of  divine  malignity,  and  it  cannot  therefore  be  much 
stronger  than  it  is.  " 

"  How  can  you  make  that  clear  to  us  ?  "  said  Fausta ;  "  I 
should  truly  rejoice  if,  out  of  the  evils  which  so  darken  the 
earth,  anything  good  or  beautiful  could  be  drawn.  " 

"  As  this  dark  mould, "  rejoined  the  philosopher,  "  sends 
upwards,  and  out  of  its  very  heart,  this  rare  Persian  rose, 
so  does  hope  grow  out  of  evil,  and  the  darker  the  evil  the 
brighter  the  hope,  as  from  a  richer  and  fouler  soil  comes 
the  more  vigorous  plant  and  larger  flower.  Take  a  particu 
lar  evil,  and  consider  it.  You  remember  the  sad  tale  con 
cerning  the  Christian  Probus,  which  Piso,  in  recounting  the 
incidents  of  his  journey  from  Home  to  Palmyra,  related  to 
us  while  seated  at  the  tables. " 

"  Indeed,  I  did  not  hear  it, "  said  Zenobia ;  "  so  that  Piso 
must,  if  he  please,  repeat  it.  " 

"  We  shall  willingly  hear  it  again, "  said  Julia  and 
Fausta. 

And  I  then  related  it  again. 

"  Now  do  you  wonder, "  resumed  Longinus,  when  I  had 
finished,  "  that  Probus,  when,  one  after  another,  four  chil 
dren  were  ravished  from  his  arms  by  death,  and  then,  as  if 
to  crown  his  lot  with  evil,  his  wife  followed  them,  and  he 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.  99 

was  left  alone  in  the  world,  bereaved  of  every  object  to 
which  his  heart  was  most  fondly  attached, —  do  you  won 
der,  I  say,  that  he  turned  to  the  heavens  and  cursed  the 
gods  ?  And  can  you  justify  the  gods  so  that  they  shall  not 
be  chargeable  with  blackest  malignity,  if  there  be  no  future 
and  immortal  state  ?  What  is  it  to  bind  so  the  heart  of  a 
parent  to  a  child,  to  give  that  affection  a  force  and  a  ten 
derness  which  belong  to  no  other  tie,  so  that  anxieties  for 
its  life  and  welfare  and  cares  and  sacrifices  for  its  good  con 
stitute  the  very  existence  of  its  parent,  —  what  is  it  to  foster 
by  so  many  contrivances  this  love,  and  then  forever  dis 
appoint  and  blast  it,  but  malignity  ?  Yet  this  work  is  done 
every  hour,  and  almost  in  every  heart ;  if  for  children  we 
lament  not,  yet  we  do  for  others  as  dear  ?  " 

Tears  to  the  memory  of  Odenatus  fell  fast  from  the  eyes 
of  Zenobia. 

"  Are  we  not  then, "  continued  Longinus,  without  paus 
ing, —  "are  we  not  then  presented  with  this  alternative, 
either  the  Supreme  God  is  a  malignant  being,  whose  pleas 
ure  it  is  to  torment,  or  there  is  an  immortal  state  where 
we  shall  meet  again  with  those  who,  for  inscrutable  pur 
poses,  have  been  torn  from  our  arms  here  below  ?  And 
who  can  hesitate  in  which  to  rest  ?  The  belief,  therefore, 
in  a  future  life  ought  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty 
of  admitting  the  idea  of  divine  malignity.  And  this  idea 
is  so  repulsive  —  so  impossible  to  be  entertained  for  one 
moment  —  that  the  other  cannot,  it  seems  to  me,  rest  upon 
a  firmer  foundation. " 

"  Every  word  you  speak, "  said  Zenobia,  "  yields  pleasure 
and  instruction.  It  delights  me,  even  when  thickest  beset 
by  the  cares  of  state,  to  pause  and  contemplate  for  a  mo 
ment  the  prospects  of  futurity.  It  diffuses  a  divine  calm 
throughout  the  soul.  You  have  given  me  new  food  for  my 
thoughts  ? " 

"  I  will  add, "  said  Longinus,  "  only  one  thing  to  what  I 
have  said,  and  that  is  concerning  the  incompleteness  of 
man  as  a  divine  work,  and  which  has  been  mentioned  by 
Fausta.  Is  not  this  an  argument  for  a  future  life  ?  Other 


100  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

things  and  beings  are  finished  and  complete  —  man  only  is 
left,  as  it  were,  half  made  up.  A  tree  grows  and  bears 
fruit,  and  the  end  of  its  creation  is  answered.  A  complete 
circle  is  run.  It  is  the  same  with  the  animals.  No  one 
expects  more  from  a  lion  or  a  horse  than  is  found  in  both. 
But  with  man,  it  is  not  so.  In  no  period  of  history,  and 
among  no  people,  has  it  been  satisfactorily  determined  what 
man  is,  or  what  are  the  limits  of  his  capacity  and  being. 
He  is  full  of  contradictions,  and  of  incomprehensible  orga 
nization,  if  he  is  considered  only  in  relation  to  this  world. 
For  while  every  other  affection  finds  and  rests  in  its  appro 
priate  object,  which  fully  satisfies  and  fills  it,  the  desire 
of  unlimited  improvement  and  of  endless  life, — the  strong 
est  and  best  refined  of  any  of  the  desires, — this  alone  is 
answered  by  no  corresponding  object ;  which  is  not  differ 
ent  from  what  it  would  be,  if  the  gods  should  create  a  race 
like  ours,  having  the  same  craving  and  necessity  for  food 
and  drink,  yet  never  provide  for  them  the  one  or  the  other, 
but  leave  them  all  to  die  of  hunger.  Unless  there  is  a 
future  life,  we  all  die  of  a  worse  hunger.  Unless  there  is 
a  future  life,  man  is  a  monster  in  creation  —  compared  with 
other  things,  an  abortion  —  and  in  himself,  and  compared 
with  himself,  an  enigma  —  a  riddle  —  which  no  human  wit 
has  ever  solved,  or  can  ever  hope  to  solve. " 

u  This  seems  unanswerable, "  said  Fausta ;  "  yet  is  it  no 
objection  to  all  such  arguments,  which  we  ourselves  con 
struct,  that  the  thing  they  establish  is  too  great  and  good 
almost  to  be  believed,  without  some  divine  warrant.  It 
does  to  me  appear  almost  or  quite  presumptuous  to  think 
that  for  me  there  is  by  the  gods  prepared  a  world  of  never- 
fading  light  and  a  never-ending  joy.  " 

"  When, "  replied  the  Greek,  "  we  look  at  the  lower  forms 
of  man  which  fall  under  our  observation,  I  confess  that  the 
objection  which  you  urge  strikes  me  with  some  force.  But 
when  I  think  that  it  is  for  beings  like  you  to  whom  I  speak, 
for  whom  another  and  fairer  world  is  to  be  prepared,  it  loses 
again  much  of  its  force.  And  when  I  think  of  the  great 
and  good  of  other  times,  of  Homer  and  Hesiod,  of  Phidias 


AN  EVENING   WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LO'NGINUS.        101 

and  Praxiteles,  of  Socrates  and  Plato,  and  t>'£  wftat  the  mind 
of  man  has  in  them,  and  in  others  as  great  and  good,  ac 
complished,  the  objection  which  you  urge  loses  all  its  force. 
I  see  and  feel  that  man  has  been  made  not  altogether  un 
worthy  of  a  longer  life  and  a  happier  lot  than  earth  affords. 
And  in  regard  to  the  ignorant,  the  low,  and  the  almost  or 
quite  savage,  we  are  to  consider  that  the  same  powers  and 
affections  are  in  them  as  in  us,  and  that  their  inferiority  to 
us  is  not  intrinsic  and  essential,  but  as  it  were  accidental. 
The  difference  between  the  soul  of  Plato  and  yonder  Ethio 
pian  slave  is  not  in  any  original  faculty  or  power ;  the  slave 
here  equals  the  philosopher,  but  in  this, —  that  the  faculties 
and  powers  of  Plato  were  strengthened  and  nurtured  and 
polished  by  the  hand  of  education,  and  the  happy  influ 
ences  of  a  more  civilized  community ;  all  which  to  the  slave 
has  been  wanting.  He  is  a  diamond  just  as  it  comes  from 
the  mine ;  Plato  like  that  one  set  in  gold,  which  sparkles 
with  the  radiance  of  a  star,  Fausta,  upon  your  finger.  But, 
surely,  the  glory  of  the  diamond  is,  that  it  is  a  diamond ; 
not  that  Demetrius  has  polished  and  set  it.  Man  has 
within  him  so  much  of  the  god  that  I  do  not  wonder  he 
has  been  so  often  deified.  The  great  and  excellent  among 
men,  therefore,  I  think  not  unworthy  of  immortality,  for 
what  they  are ;  the  humble  and  the  bad  for  what  they  may 
so  easily  become,  and  might  have  been,  under  circumstances 
but  slightly  altered. " 

"  I  cannot, "  said  Julia,  as  Longinus  closed,  "  deny  strength 
and  plausibility  to  your  arguments,  but  I  cannot  admit  that 
they  satisfy  me.  After  the  most  elaborate  reasoning,  I  am 
still  left  in  darkness.  No  power  or  wit  of  man  has  ever 
wholly  scattered  the  mists  which  rest  upon  life  and  death. 
I  confess,  with  Socrates,  that  I  want  a  promise  or  a  reve 
lation  to  enable  me  to  take  the  voyage  of  life  in  a  spirit  of 
cheerfulness,  and  without  the  fear  of  fatal  shipwreck.  If 
your  reasonings,  Longinus,  were  only  accompanied  with 
authority  more  than  that  of  man,  if  I  could  only  believe 
that  the  Divinity  inspired  you,  I  could  then  rest  contented 
and  happy  One  word  authoritatively  declaring  man's  im- 


.102        .  ,  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

mortality,  a  word  which  by  infallible  token  I  could  know 
to  be  a  word  from  the  Supreme,  would  to  me  be  worth  in 
finitely  more  than  all  the  conjectures,  hopes,  and  reasonings 
of  all  the  philosophers.  I  fully  agree  with  you,  that  the 
instincts  of  our  nature  all  point  both  to  a  God  and  to  im 
mortality.  But  the  heart  longs  for  something  more  sure 
and  clear,  at  least  my  woman's  heart  does.  It  may  be  that 
it  is  the  woman  within  me  which  prompts  the  feeling  —  but 
I  wish  to  lean  upon  authority  in  this  great  matter ;  I  wish 
to  repose  calmly  in  a  divine  assurance.  " 

"  In  that,  princess, "  I  could  not  help  saying,  "  I  am  a 
woman  too.  I  have  long  since  lost  all  that  regard  for  the 
gods  in  which  I  was  so  carefully  nourished.  I  despise  the 
popular  superstitions.  Yet  is  there  nothing  which  I  have 
found  as  yet  to  supply  their  place.  I  have  searched  the 
writings  of  Plato,  of  Cicero,  of  Seneca,  in  vain.  I  find 
there,  indeed,  wisdom  and  learning  and  sagacity  almost 
more  than  human ;  but  I  find  nothing  which  can  be  digni 
fied  by  the  name  of  religion.  Their  systems  of  morals  are 
admirable,  and  sufficient,  perhaps,  to  enable  one  to  live  a 
happy  or  fortunate  life.  But  concerning  the  soul  of  man, 
and  its  destiny,  they  are  dumb,  or  their  words,  if  they 
utter  any,  are  but  the  dark  speeches  of  an  oracle.  " 

"  I  am  happy  that  I  am  not  alone, "  said  Julia ;  "  and  I 
cannot  but  think  that  many,  very  many,  are  with  me.  I 
am  sure  that  what  most  persons,  perhaps,  who  think  and 
feel  upon  these  subjects,  want,  is  some  divine  promise  or 
revelation.  Common  minds,  Longinus,  cannot  appreciate 
the  subtlety  of  your  reasonings,  much  less  those  of  the 
Phsedo.  And,  besides,  the  cares  and  labours  of  life  do  not 
allow  time  to  engage  in  such  inquiries,  even  if  we  suppose 
all  men  to  have  capacity  for  them.  Is  it  not  necessary  that 
truths  relating  to  the  soul  and  futurity  should  rest  upon 
authority,  if  any,  or  many,  beside  philosophers  are  to  em 
brace  them  ?  And  surely,  if  the  poor  and  ignorant  are  im 
mortal,  it  is  as  needful  for  them,  as  for  us,  to  know  it.  It 
is,  I  conceive,  on  this  account  that  the  religion  of  the 
Christians  has  spread  so  rapidly.  It  meets  our  nature.  It 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.       10F 

supplies  authority.  It  professes  to  bring  enunciations  from 
heaven  of  man's  immortality.  * 

"  It  is  for  that  reason, "  replied  Longinus,  "  I  cannot 
esteem  it.  The  very  term  revelation  offends.  The  right 
application  of  reason  effects  all,  it  seems  to  me,  that  what 
is  called  revelation  can.  It  perfectly  satisfies  the  philoso 
pher,  and  as  for  common  minds,  instinct  is  an  equally 
sufficient  guide  and  light.  " 

"  I  cannot  but  judge  you,  Longinus, "  said  Julia,  "  want 
ing  in  a  true  fellow-feeling  for  your  kind,  notwithstanding 
all  you  have  said  concerning  the  nature  and  powers  of  man. 
How  is  it  that  you  can  desire  that  mankind  should  remain 
any  longer  under  the  dominion  of  the  same  gross  and  per 
nicious  errors  that  have  for  so  many  ages  oppressed  them ! 
Only  consider  the  horror  of  an  idolatrous  religion  in  Egypt 
and  in  Assyria,  in  Greece  and  in  Rome  —  and  do  you  not 
desire  their  extermination  ?  —  and  what  prospect  of  this  can 
there  be,  but  through  the  plain  authoritative  language  of 
a  revelation  ? " 

"  I  certainly  desire  with  you, "  replied  Longinus,  "  the 
extermination  of  error,  and  the  overthrow  of  horrible  and 
corrupting  superstitions ;  and  of  nothing  am  I  more  sure 
than  that  the  reason  of  man,  in  unfolding  and  constantly 
improving  ages,  will  effect  it.  A  plain  voice  from  heaven, 
announcing  important  truth,  might  perhaps  hasten  the 
work.  But  this  voice,  as  thought  to  be  heard  in  Chris 
tianity,  is  not  a  plain  voice,  nor  clearly  known  to  be  a  voice 
from  heaven.  Here  is  the  Bishop  of  Antioch  set  upon  by 
the  Bishops  of  Alexandria  and  Caesarea,  and  many  others, 
as  I  learn,  who  accuse  him  of  wrongly  receiving  and  falsely 
teaching  the  doctrines  of  Christ ;  and  for  two  hundred  years 
has  there  prevailed  the  like  uncertainty  about  the  essence 
of  the  religion. " 

"  I  look  not  with  much  hope  to  Christianity, "  said 
Fausta.  "  Yet  I  must  inform  myself  more  exactly  con 
cerning  it  before  I  judge.  " 

"  That  is  spoken  like  Fausta, "  said  Julia ;  "  and  it  is 
much  for  you  to  say,  who  dislike  so  heartily  that  Paul  who 
I  am  constantly  wishing  you  to  hear.  " 


104  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Whenever  he  shall  lay  aside  a  little  of  his  pomp,  I  may 
be  willing  to  listen, "  replied  Fausta ;  "  but  I  could  ill  brook 
a  discourse  upon  immortality  from  one  whose  soul  seems  so 
wedded  to  time. " 

"  Well, "  said  Julia,  "  but  let  us  not  be  drawn  away  from 
our  subject.  I  admit  that  there  are  disputes  among  the 
Christians,  but,  like  the  disputes  among  philosophers,  they 
are  about  secondary  matters.  There  is  no  dispute  concern 
ing  the  great  and  chiefly  interesting  part  of  the  religion, — 
its  revelation  of  a  future  life.  Christians  have  never  di 
vided  here,  nor  on  another  great  point,  that  Christ,  the 
founder  of  the  religion,  was  a  true  messenger  from  God. 
The  voice  of  Christianity  on  both  these  points  is  a  clear 
one.  Thus,  I  think,  will  every  one  judge,  who,  as  I  have 
done,  will  read  the  writings  in  which  the  religion  is  found. 
And  I  am  persuaded  it  is  because  it  is  so  plain  a  voice  here, 
that  it  is  bidding  fair  to  supersede  every  other  form  of 
religion.  And  that  it  is  a  voice  from  God,  is,  it  seems  to 
me,  made  out  with  as  much  clearness  as  we  could  look  for. 
That  Christ,  the  author  of  this  religion,  was  a  messenger 
from  God,  was  shown  by  his  miracles.  How  could  it  be 
shown  otherwise  ?  I  can  conceive  of  no  other  way  in  which 
so  satisfying  proof  could  be  given  of  the  agency  and  au 
thority  of  God.  And  certainly  there  is  evidence  enough, 
if  history  is  to  be  believed,  that  he  wrought  many  and 
stupendous  miracles. " 

"  What  is  a  miracle  ?  "  asked  Longinus. 

"  It  is  that, "  replied  Julia,  "  which,  being  done  or  said, 
furnishes  satisfactory  proof  of  the  present  interposing  power 
of  God.  A  man  who,  by  a  word  spoken,  can  heal  sick 
persons,  and  raise  to  life  dead  ones,  can  be  no  other  than 
a  messenger  of  God !  " 

"  Why  not  of  some  other  superior  being  —  perhaps  a  bad 
one?" 

*  The  character,  teaching,  objects,  acts  of  Christ,  make 
it  unlikely,  if  not  impossible,  that  he  should  have  been 
sent  by  any  bad  intelligence.  And  that  he  came  not  only 
from  a  good  being,  but  from  God,  we  may  believe  on  his 
own  word. " 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.        105 

"  His  goodness  may  have  been  all  assumed.  The  whole 
may  be  a  deception.  " 

"  Men  do  not  sacrifice  their  lives  merely  to  deceive,  to 
play  a  child's  game  before  the  world.  Christ  died  to  show 
his  attachment  to  his  cause,  and  with  him,  innumerable 
others.  Would  they  have  done  this  merely  to  impose  upon 
mankind  ?  And  for  what  purpose  ?  —  for  that  of  teaching  a 
religion  inculcating  the  loftiest  virtue !  But  I  do  not  set 
myself  forward  as  a  champion  of  this  new  religion,"  con 
tinued  Julia,  plainly  disturbed  lest  she  might  have  seemed 
too  earnest ;  "  would  that  you,  Longinus,  could  be  persuaded 
to  search  into  its  claims !  If  you  would  but  read  the  books 
written  by  the  founders  of  it,  I  am  sure  you  would  say  this 
at  least,  that  such  books  were  never  written  before,  nor 
such  a  character  portrayed  as  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  You 
who  profess  yourself  charmed  with  the  poetry  of  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  sentiments  expressed  in 
them,  would  not  be  less  impressed  by  the  gentler  majesty, 
the  mild,  sweet  dignity  of  the  person  and  doctrine  of  Christ. 
And  if  the  reasonings  of  Socrates  and  Plato  have  any  power 
to  convince  you  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  how  must 
you  be  moved  by  the  simple  announcements  of  the  truth  by 
the  Nazarene,  and  above  all  by  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead !  Christianity  boasts  already  powerful  advocates,  but 
I  wish  it  could  say  that  its  character  and  claims  had  been 
examined  by  the  great  Longinus.  " 

The  soft,  yet  earnest,  eloquent  tone  of  Julia's  voice  fell 
upon  pleased  and  willing  ears.  The  countenance  of  the 
Greek  glowed  with  a  generous  satisfaction  as  he  listened 
to  the  reasoning  of  his  fair  pupil,  poured  forth  in  that 
noble  tongue  it  had  been  his  task  and  his  happiness  to 
teach  her.  Evidently  desirous,  however,  not  to  prolong 
the  conversation,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  queen. 

"  You  are  pleased, "  said  he,  "  you  must  be,  with  the 
aptness  of  my  scholar.  Julia  has  not  studied  dialectics  in 
vain.  Before  I  can  feel  myself  able  to  contend  with  her, 
I  must  study  the  books  she  has  commended  so,  —  from 
which,  I  must  acknowledge,  I  have  been  repelled  by  a 


106  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

prejudice,  I  believe,  rather  than  anything  else,  or  more 
worthy, —  and  then,  perhaps,  I  may  agree  in  opinion  with 
her. " 

"  In  truth, "  said  Zenobia,  "  Julia  is  almost  or  quite  a 
Christian.  I  knew  not,  daughter,  that  Paul  had  made  such 
progress  in  his  work.  But  all  have  my  full  consent  to 
cherish  such  form  of  religious  faith  as  most  approves  itself 
to  their  own  minds.  I  find  my  highest  satisfaction  in 
Moses  and  the  prophets.  Happy  shall  I  be  if  Julia  find 
as  much  or  more  in  Christ  and  his  apostles.  Sure  am  I, 
there  is  no  beneficent  power  or  charm  in  the  religions  of 
Greece  or  Home  or  Persia  or  Egypt  to  cause  any  of  us  to 
adhere  to  them  though  our  very  infancy  were  instructed  in 
their  doctrines. " 

*  It  is  not,  I  assure  you, "  said  Julia,  "  to  Paul  of 
Antioch  that  I  owe  such  faith  in  Christ  as  I  have,  but  to 
the  Christian  books  themselves ;  or  if  to  any  human  au 
thority  beside,  to  Saint  Thomas,  the  old  hermit  of  the 
mountain,  to  whom  I  would  that  every  one  should  resort, 
who  would  draw  near  to  the  purest  living  fountain  of 
Christian  knowledge. " 

"  I  trust, "  said  I,  "  that  at  some  future  time  I  may,  with 
your  guidance,  or  through  your  influence,  gain  admittance 
to  this  aged  professor  of  the  Christian  faith.  I  confess 
myself  now,  since  what  I  have  heard,  a  seeker  after  Chris 
tian  knowledge.  n 

"  Gladly  shall  I  take  you  there, "  replied  the  princess, 
"  and  gladly  will  Saint  Thomas  receive  you.  * 

We  now  at  the  same  time  rose  from  our  seats.  Zenobia, 
taking  the  hand  of  Fausta,  walked  toward  the  palace ; 
Longinus,  with  folded  arms,  and  as  if  absorbed  by  the 
thoughts  which  were  passing  through  his  mind,  began  to 
pace  to  and  fro  beneath  the  thick  shadows  of  a  group  of 
orange -trees*.  I  was  left  with  Julia. 

"  Princess, "  said  I,  "  it  is  yet  early,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  evening  makes  it  wrong  to  shut  ourselves  up  from  the 
sight  of  so  fair  a  scene;  shall  we  follow  farther  some  of 
these  inviting  paths  ?  " 


AN  EVENING   WITH  ZENOBIA  AND   LONGINUS.        107 

"Nothing  can  be  more  pleasant,"  said  she;  "these  are 
my  favourite  haunts,  and  I  never  am  weary  of  them,  and 
never  did  they  seem  to  me  to  wear  a  more  lovely  aspect 
than  now.  Let  me  be  your  guide,  and  I  will  lead  you  by 
a  winding  way  to  Zenobia 's  Temple,  as  we  call  it,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  her  chosen  retreat,  as  the  arbour  which  we 
have  now  left  is  mine.  " 

So  we  began  to  walk  toward  the  spot  of  which  she  spake. 
We  were  for  some  time  silent.  At  length  the  princess  said  : 
"  Roman,  you  have  now  seen  Zenobia  both  as  a  queen  and 
a  woman.  Has  fame  done  her  more  than  justice  ?  " 

"  Great  as  her  reputation  is  in  Rome, "  I  replied,  "  fame 
has  not,  to  my  ear  at  least,  brought  anything  that  more  than 
distantly  approaches  a  true  and  faithful  picture  of  her.  We 
have  heard  much  indeed  —  and  yet  not  enough  —  of  her 
surpassing  beauty,  of  the  vigour  of  her  understanding,  of 
her  vast  acquirements  in  the  Greek  learning,  of  the  wisdom 
and  energy  of  her  conduct  as  a  sovereign  queen,  of  her  skill 
in  the  chase,  of  her  bravery  and  martial  bearing,  when,  at 
the  head  of  her  troops,  she  leads  them  to  the  charge.  But 
of  this  union  of  feminine  loveliness  with  so  much  of  mas 
culine  power,  of  this  womanly  grace,  of  this  winning  con 
descension, —  so  that  it  loses  all  the  air  of  condescension, — 
to  those  even  much  beneath  her  in  every  human  accom 
plishment  as  well  as  in  rank,  of  this  I  had  heard  nothing, 
and  for  this  I  was  not  prepared.  When,  in  the  morning,  I 
first  saw  her  seated  in  all  the  pride  of  Oriental  state,  and 
found  myself  prostrate  at  her  feet,  it  was  only  Zenobia  that 
I  saw,  and  I  saw  what  I  expected.  But  no  sooner  had  she 
spoken,  especially  no  sooner  had  she  cast  that  look  upon 
you,  princess,  when  you  had  said  a  few  words  in  reply  to 
me,  than  I  saw  not  Zenobia  only,  but  the  woman  and  the 
mother.  A  veil  was  suddenly  lifted,  and  a  new  being  stood 
before  me.  It  seemed  to  me  that  that  moment  I  knew  her 
better  than  I  know  myself.  I  am  sure  that  I  know  her. 
Her  countenance  all  living  with  emotion,  changing  and 
working  with  every  thought  of  her  mind  and  every  feeling 
of  her  heart,  reveals  her  with  the  truth  of  a  magic  mirror. 
She  is  not  known  at  Rome. " 


108  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  it, "  said  Julia ;  "  if  they  only  knew  her, 
they  could  never  do  her  harm.  You,  Piso,  may  perhaps  do 
much  for  her.  I  perceive,  already,  that  she  highly  regards 
you,  and  values  your  opinion.  If  you  are  willing  to  do  us 
such  service,  if  you  feel  interest  enough  in  our  fate,  speak 
to  her,  I  pray  you,  with  plainness,  all  that  you  think. 
Withhold  nothing.  Fear  not  to  utter  what  you  may  deem 
to  be  most  unpalatable  truths.  She  is  candid  and  generous 
as  she  is  ambitious.  She  will  at  least  hear  and  weigh 
whatever  you  may  advance.  God  grant  that  truth  may 
reach  her  mind,  and  reaching,  sway  it ! " 

"  I  can  now  think  of  no  higher  satisfaction, "  I  replied, 
"  than  to  do  all  I  may,  as  a  Koman,  in  your  service.  I 
love  your  nation ;  and  as  a  Koman  and  a  man,  I  desire  its 
welfare  and  permanent  glory.  Its  existence  is  necessary  to 
Home;  its  ruin  or  decay  must  be,  viewed  aright,  but  so 
much  injury  to  her  most  vital  interests.  Strange,  how 
strange,  that  Zenobia,  formed  by  the  gods  to  draw  her  hap 
piness  from  sources  so  much  nobler  than  any  which  ambi 
tion  can  supply,  should  turn  from  them,  and  seek  for  it  in 
the  same  shallow  pool  with  Alexander  and  Aurelian  and 
the  hireling  soldier  of  fortune !  " 

"  Strange,  indeed, "  said  Julia,  "  that  she  who  can  enter 
with  Longinus  into  the  deepest  mysteries  of  philosophy, 
and  whose  mind  is  stored  with  all  the  learning  of  the  schools, 
should  still  love  the  pomp  of  power  better  than  all.  And 
Fausta  is  but  her  second  self.  Fausta  worships  Zenobia ; 
and  Zenobia  is  encouraged  in  her  opinions  by  the  kindred 
sentiments  of  that  bright  spirit.  All  the  influence,  Piso, 
which  you  can  exert  over  Fausta,  will  reach  Zenobia.  " 

"  It  seems  presumptuous,  princess, "  said  I,  "  to  seek  to 
draw  the  minds  of  two  such  beings  as  Zenobia  and  Fausta 
to  our  bent.  Yet  surely  they  are  in  the  wrong. " 

"  It  is  something, "  quickly  added  the  princess,  "  that 
Longinus  is  of  our  mind ;  but  then  again  Zabdas  and  Grac 
chus  are  a  host  on  the  other  part.  And  all  the  power  and 
pride  of  Palmyra  are  with  them  too.  But  change  Zenobia 
and  we  change  all.  Oh,  how  weary  am  I  of  ambition,  and 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.       109 

how  sick  of  greatness !  Willingly  would  I  exchange  all 
this  for  an  Arab's  tent  or  a  hermit's  cell." 

"  The  gods  grant  that  may  never  be, "  I  replied ;  "  but 
that  you,  princess,  may  yet  live  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
Zenobia. " 

"  I  say  it  with  sincerity,  Roman,  that  prayer  finds  no 
echo  in  my  bosom.  I  have  seen  enough  of  power,  and  of 
the  honours  that  wait  upon  it.  And  when  I  say  this, 
having  had  before  my  eyes  this  beautiful  vision  of  Zenobia 
reigning  over  subjects  as  a  mother  would  reign  over  her 
family,  dealing  justly  with  all,  and  living  but  to  make 
others  happy, —  you  must  believe  me.  I  seek  and  love  a 
calmer,  humbler  lot.  This,  Piso,  is  the  temple  of  Zenobia. 
Let  us  enter. " 

We  approached  and  entered.  It  was  a  small  building, 
after  the  model  of  the  temple  of  Vesta  at  Tivoli,  constructed 
of  the  most  beautiful  marbles,  and  adorned  with  statues. 
Within,  were  the  seats  on  which  the  queen  was  accustomed 
to  recline,  and  an  ample  table  covered  with  her  favourite 
authors,  and  the  materials  of  writing. 

"  It  is  here, "  said  Julia,  "  that,  seated  with  my  mother, 
we  listen  to  the  eloquence  of  Longinus,  while  he  unfolds 
the  beauties  of  the  Greek  or  Roman  learning ;  or,  together 
with  him,  read  the  most  famous  works  of  former  ages. 
With  Homer,  Thucydides,  and  Sophocles  for  our  compan 
ions,  we  have  here  passed  precious  hours  and  days,  and 
have  the  while  happily  forgotten  the  heavy  burden  of  a 
nation's  cares.  I  have  forgotten  them;  not  so  Zenobia. 
They  are  her  life,  and  from  all  we  have  read  would  she 
ever  draw  somewhat  that  should  be  of  service  to  her  in  the 
duties  of  her  great  office.  " 

Returning  to  the  surrounding  portico,  we  stood  and  for 
a  time  enjoyed  in  silence  the  calm  beauty  of  the  scene. 

As  we  stood  thus,  Julia  gazing  upon  the  objects  around 
us,  or  lost  in  thought,  I  —  must  I  say  it  ?  —  seeing  scarce 
anything  but  her,  and  thinking  only  of  her, —  as  we  stood 
thus,  shouts  of  merry  laughter  came  to  us,  borne  upon  the 
breeze,  and  roused  us  from  our  reverie. 


110  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN   OF  PALMYRA. 

"  These  sounds, "  said  I,  "  cannot  come  from  the  palace ; 
it  is  too  far,  unless  these  winding  walks  have  deceived  me.  " 

"  They  are  the  voices, "  said  Julia,  "  I  am  almost  sure,  of 
Livia  and  Faustula  and  the  young  Csesars.  They  seem  to 
be  engaged  in  some  sport  near  the  palace ;  shall  we  join 
them  ? " 

"  Let  us  do  so, "  said  I. 

So  we  moved  toward  that  quarter  of  the  gardens  whence 
the  sounds  proceeded.  A  high  wall  at  length  separated  us 
from  those  whom  we  sought.  But  reaching  a  gate,  we 
passed  through  and  entered  upon  a  lawn  covered,  as  it 
seemed,  with  children,  slaves,  and  the  various  inmates  of 
the  palace.  Here,  mingled  among  the  motley  company, 
we  at  once  perceived  the  queen  and  Longinus  and  Fausta, 
together  with  many  of  those  whom  we  had  sat  with  at  the 
banquet.  The  centre  of  attraction,  and  the  cause  of  the 
loud  shouts  of  laughter  which  continually  arose,  was  a 
small  white  elephant  with  which  the  young  princes  and 
princesses  were  amusing  themselves.  He  had  evidently 
been  trained  to  the  part  he  had  to  perform ;  for  nothing 
could  be  more  expert  than  the  manner  in  which  he  went 
through  his  various  tricks.  Sometimes  he  chased  them, 
and  pretended  difficulty  in  overtaking  them ;  then  he  would 
affect  to  stumble,  and  so  fall  and  roll  upon  the  ground; 
then  springing  quickly  upon  his  feet,  he  would  surprise 
some  one  or  other  lurking  near  him,  and  seizing  him  with 
his  trunk,  would  hold  him  fast,  or  first  whirling  him  in 
the  air,  then  seat  him  upon  his  back,  and  march  gravely 
round  the  lawn,  the  rest  following  and  shouting;  then 
releasing  his  prisoner,  he  would  lay  himself  upon  the 
ground,  while  all  together  would  fearlessly  climb  upon 
his  back  till  it  was  covered;  when  he  would  either  sud 
denly  shake  his  huge  body,  so  that  one  after  another  they 
rolled  off,  or  he  would  attempt  to  rise  slowly  upon  his  legs ; 
in  doing  which,  nearly  all  would  slip  from  his  slanting 
back,  and  only  two  or  three  succeed  in  keeping  their  places. 
And  other  sportive  tricks,  more  than  it  would  be  worth 
while  for  me  to  recount,  did  he  perform  for  the  amusement 


AN  EVENING  WITH  ZENOBIA  AND  LONGINUS.        Ill 

of  his  playfellows.  And  beautiful  was  it  to  see  the  careful 
ness  with  which  he  trod  and  moved,  lest  any  harm  might 
come  to  those  children.  His  especial  favourite  was  the 
little  flaxen-haired  Faustula.  He  was  never  weary  with 
caressing  her,  taking  her  on  his  trunk,  and  bearing  her 
about,  and  when  he  set  her  down  would  wait  to  see  that 
she  was  fairly  on  her  feet  and  safe,  before  he  would  return 
to  his  gambols.  Her  voice  calling  out,  "  Sapor,  Sapor, "  was 
sure  to  bring  him  to  her,  when,  what  with  words  and  signs, 
he  soon  comprehended  what  it  was  she  wanted.  I  myself 
came  in  unwittingly  for  a  share  of  the  sport.  For  as  Faus 
tula  came  bounding  by  me,  I  did  as  those  are  apt  to  do 
who  know  little  of  children,  —  I  suddenly  extended  my 
arms  and  caught  her.  She,  finding  herself  seized,  and  in 
the  arms  of  one  she  knew  not,  thought,  as  children  will 
think,  that  she  was  already  borne  a  thousand  leagues  from 
her  home,  and  screamed ;  whereupon,  at  the  instant,  I  felt 
myself  taken  round  the  legs  by  a  force  greater  than  that  of 
a  man,  and  which  drew  them  together  with  such  violence 
that  instinctively  I  dropped  the  child,  and  at  the  same  time 
cried  out  with  pain.  Julia,  standing  next  me,  incontinently 
slapped  the  trunk  of  the  elephant,  for  it  was  that  twisted 
round  me,  with  her  hand,  at  which,  leaving  me,  he  wound 
it  slightly  round  the  waist  of  the  princess,  and  held  her  his 
close  prisoner.  Great  laughter  from  the  children  and  the 
slaves  testified  their  joy  at  seeing  their  elders,  equally  with 
themselves,  in  the  power  of  the  elephant.  Milo  being  of 
the  number,  and  in  his  foolish  exhilaration  and  sportive 
approbation  of  Sapor's  feats,  having  gone  up  to  him  and 
patted  him  on  his  side,  the  beast,  receiving  as  an  affront 
that  plebeian  salutation,  quickly  turned  upon  him,  and 
taking  him  by  one  of  his  feet,  held  him  in  that  displeasing 
manner  —  his  head  hanging  down  —  and  paraded  leisurely 
round  the  green,  Milo  making  the  while  hideous  outcry, 
and  the  whole  company,  especially  the  slaves  and  menials, 
filling  the  air  with  screams  of  laughter.  At  length  Vabala- 
thus,  thinking  that  Milo  might  be  injured,  called  out  to 
Sapor,  who  thereupon  released  him,  and  he  rising  and 


112  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

adjusting  his  dress,  was  heard  to  affirm,  that  it  had  never 
happened  so  while  he  was  in  the  service  of  Gallienus. 

These  things  for  the  little  Gallus. 

Satisfied,  now,  with  the  amusements  of  the  evening  and 
the  pleasures  of  the  day,  we  parted  from  one  another,  filled 
with  quite  different  sentiments  from  those  which  had  pos 
sessed  us  in  the  morning.  Do  members  of  this  great  hu 
man  family  ever  meet  each  other  in  social  converse,  and 
freely  open  their  hearts,  without  a  new  and  better  strength 
being  given  to  the  bonds  which  hold  in  their  embrace  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  society  ?  To  love  each  other,  I 
think  we  chiefly  need  but  to  know  each  other.  Ignorance 
begets  suspicion,  suspicion  dislike  or  hatred,  and  so  we  live 
as  strangers  and  enemies,  when  knowledge  would  have  led 
to  intimacy  and  friendship.  Farewell ! 


MONOLITH  COLUMN  OP  THE  GRAND  COLONNADE. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  113 


LETTER  VI 

THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE. 

THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  —  ZABDAS  THE  EGYPTIAN.  —  ANTIOCHUS 
THE  SYRIAN.  —  THROWING  THE  LANCE.  —  THE  DEATH  OF  THE 
SLAVE.  —  SLAVES  OF  ROME  AND  PALMYRA.  —  THE  HUNT.  — 
THE  TIGER.  —  THE  QUEEN  SAVED.  — A  HERALD  FROM  ROME. 
—  THE  EMBASSY. 

MANY  days  have  passed,  my  Curtius,  since  I  last  wrote, 
each  bringing  its  own  pleasures,  and  leaving  its  in 
effaceable  impressions  upon  the  soul.  But  though  all  have 
been  in  many  things  delightful,  none  has  equalled  that  day 
and  evening  at  the  palace  of  the  queen.  I  have  now  min 
gled  largely  with  the  best  society  in  Palmyra.  The  doors 
of  the  noble  and  the  rich  have  been  opened  to  me  with  a 
liberal  hospitality.  As  the  friend  of  Gracchus  and  Fausta, 
—  and  now  I  may  add,  I  believe,  without  presumption, — of 
Zenobia  also,  of  Julia,  and  Longinus,  I  have  been  received 
with  attentions  of  which  Aurelian  himself  might  with 
reason  have  been  proud.  More  and  more  do  I  love  this 
people,  more  and  more  fervently  do  I  beg  of  the  Being  or 
Beings  who  rule  over  the  affairs  of  men  to  interpose  and 
defend  them  from  any  threatening  danger.  I  grieve  that 
the  rumours  still  reaching  us  from  Rome  tend  so  much  to 
confirm  the  belief  that  our  emperor  is  making  preparations 
for  an  Eastern  expedition.  Yet  I  cannot  bring  myself  to 
think  that  he  aims  at  Zenobia.  If  it  were  so,  would  there 
be  first  no  communication  with  the  queen  ?  Is  it  like 
Aurelian  to  plan  and  move  so  secretly?  And  against  a 
woman  too, — and  that  woman  Zenobia?  I'll  not  believe 
it.  Your  letters  would  not  be  what  they  are,  if  there  were 
any  real  purpose  like  that  which  is  attributed  to  Aurelian. 
But  time  will  make  its  revelations.  Meanwhile  let  me  tell 

8 


114  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

you  where  I  now  am,  and  what  pleasures  I  am  enjoying. 
This  will  be  written  under  various  dates. 

I  write  to  you  from  what  is  called  the  Queen's  Moun 
tain  Palace,  being  her  summer's  residence,  occasionally, — 
either  to  avoid  the  greater  heats  of  the  city,  or  that  she 
may  divert  herself  with  athletic  sports  or  hunting,  of 
which  she  is  excessively  fond,  and  in  which  she  has  few 
equals  of  her  own  or  even  of  our  sex.  Eoman  women  of 
the  present  day  would  be  amazed,  perhaps  shocked,  to  be 
told  what  the  sports  and  exercises  are  in  which  this  great 
Eastern  queen  finds  her  pleasures.  She  is  not  more  exalted 
above  the  women  of  Eome  by  genius  and  the  severer  studies 
of  the  closet,  than  she  is,  in  my  judgment,  by  the  manner 
and  fashion  of  her  recreations.  Let  not  the  dear  Lucilia  be 
offended.  Were  she  here  with  me,  her  fair  and  generous 
mind  would  rest,  I  am  sure,  after  due  comparisons,  in  the 
very  same  conclusions.  Fausta  is  in  these  respects  too,  as 
in  others,  but  her  second  self.  There  is  not  a  feat  of  horse 
manship  or  archery,  or  an  enterprise  in  the  chase,  but  she 
will  dare  all  and  do  all  that  is  dared  or  done  by  Zenobia. 
Not  in  the  spirit  of  imitation  or  even  rivalry,  but  from  the 
native  impulses  of  a  soul  that  reaches  at  all  things  great  and 
difficult.  And  even  Julia,  —  that  being  who  seems  too  ethe 
real  for  earth,  and  as  if  by  some  strange  chance  she  were 
misplaced,  being  here, — even  Julia  has  been  trained  in  the 
same  school;  and,  as  I  shall  show  you,  can  join  in  the 
chase,  and  draw  the  bow,  with  scarcely  less  of  skill  and 
vigour  —  with  no  less  courage — than  either  her  mother  or 
Fausta.  Although  I  have  now  seen  it,  I  still  can  hardly 
associate  such  excess  of  beauty  —  a  beauty  both  of  form  and 
face  so  truly  belonging  to  this  soft  Syrian  clime  —  with  a 
strength  and  dexterity  at  every  exercise  that  might  put  to 
shame  many  a  Eoman  who  wears  both  a  beard  and  the 
manly  gown.  But  this,  I  need  not  say,  is  not  after  Julia's 
heart.  She  loves  more  the  gentler  encounters  of  social 
intercourse,  where  wit  and  sense  and  the  affections  have 
their  full  play,  and  the  godlike  that  is  within  us  asserts  its 
supremacy. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  115 

But  my  purpose  now  is,  to  tell  you  how  and  why  it  is  I 
am  here,  and  describe  to  you,  as  well  as  I  can,  this  new 
Elysium ;  and  how  it  is  the  happy  spirits  whom  the  gods 
have  permitted  to  dwell  here  pass  their  hours. 

I  am  here  by  the  invitation  of  the  queen.  A  few  days 
after  that  which  we  had  so  highly  enjoyed  at  the  palace,  she 
expressed  her  desire  that  Gracchus,  Fausta,  and  myself 
would  accompany  her,  with  others  of  her  select  friends,  to 
her  retreat  among  the  hills,  there  to  indulge  in  perfect 
repose,  or  engage  in  the  rural  sports  of  the  place,  according 
to  our  pleasure.  I  was  not  slow,  neither  were  Gracchus 
and  Fausta,  to  accept  so  agreeable  an  invitation.  "  I 
feared, "  said  Fausta,  "  lest  the  troubled  state  of  affairs 
would  prevent  the  queen  from  taking  her  usual  vacation 
where  she  loves  best  to  do.  But  to  say  the  truth,  Lucius, 
I  do  not  think  the  prospect  of  a  rupture  with  Rome  does 
give  her  very  serious  thought.  The  vision  of  a  trial  of 
arms  with  so  renowned  a  soldier  as  Aurelian  is,  I  doubt, 
not  wholly  displeasing  to  her;  there  being  especially  so 
good  reason  to  believe  that  what  befell  Heraclianus  might 
befall  Aurelian.  Nay,  do  not  look  so  grave ;  Rome  is  not 
fallen  —  yet." 

"  Your  tongue,  Fausta,  is  lighter  than  your  heart.  Yet 
if  Rome  must  fall,  why,  truly  I  know  not  at  whose  feet  it 
could  fall  so  worthily  as  those  of  Zenobia  and  Fausta.  But 
I  trust  its  destiny  is  never  to  fall.  Other  kingdoms  as 
great,  or  almost  as  great,  I  know  you  will  say,  have  fallen, 
and  Rome  must  in  its  turn.  It  seems,  however,  I  must  say, 
to  possess  a  principle  of  vitality  which  never  before  be 
longed  to  any  nation.  Its  very  vastness,  too,  seems  to  pro 
tect  it.  I  can  as  soon  believe  that  shoals  of  sea-carp  may 
overcome  the  whale,  or  an  army  of  emmets  the  elephant  or 
rhinoceros,  as  that  one  nation,  or  many  banded  together, 
can  break  down  the  power  of  Rome.  " 

"  How  very,  very  naturally  and  easily  is  that  said !  Who 
can  doubt  that  you  are  a  Roman,  born  upon  the  Ccelian 
Hill !  Pity  but  that  we  Palmyrenes  could  copy  that  high 
way  you  Romans  have.  Do  you  not  think  that  strength 


116  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

and  success  lie  much  in  confidence  ?  Were  every  Eoman 
such  as  you,  I  can  believe  you  were  then  omnipotent.  But 
then  we  have  some  like  you.  Here  are  Zenobia  and  I, 
you  cannot  deny  that  we  have  something  of  the  Koman 
about  us.  * 

"  I  confess  it  would  be  a  drawn  battle,  at  least,  were  you 
a  nation  of  Zenobias.  How  Fausta  is  at  the  lance,  I  cannot 
yet  tell. " 

"  That  you  shall  see  as  soon  as  we  are  among  the  moun 
tains.  Is  not  this  charming,  now,  in  the  queen,  to  bring 
us  all  together  again  so  soon  under  her  own  roof?  And 
such  a  place,  too,  Lucius!  We  shall  live  there  indeed; 
each  day  will,  at  least,  be  doubled.  For  I  suppose  life  is 
to  be  measured,  not  by  hours,  but  sensations.  Are  you 
ready  for  the  morning  start?  Oh,  that  Solon  were  here, 
what  exquisite  mirth  should  we  have !  Milo  is  something ; 
but  Solon  were  more.  " 

"  Fausta,  Fausta, "  cried  Gracchus,  "  when  will  you  be  a 
woman  ?" 

"  Never,  I  trust, "  replied  Fausta ;  "  if  I  may  then  neither 
laugh  nor  cry,  nor  vex  a  Eoman,  nor  fight  for  our  queen. 
These  are  my  vocations,  and  if  I  must  renounce  them,  then 
I  will  be  a  man.  " 

"  Either  sex  may  be  proud  to  gain  you,  my  noble  girl, " 
said  Gracchus. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  following  day,  all  at  the 
house  of  Gracchus  gave  note  of  preparation.  We  were  to 
meet  the  queen  and  her  party  a  few  miles  from  the  walls  of 
the  city,  at  an  appointed  place,  whence  we  were  to  make 
the  rest  of  the  journey  in  company.  We  were  first  at  the 
place  of  meeting,  which  was  a  rising  ground,  shadowed  by 
a  few  cedars  with  their  huge  branching  tops.  We  reined 
up  our  horses,  and  stood  with  our  faces  toward  the  road, 
over  which  we  had  just  passed,  looking  to  catch  the  first 
view  of  the  queen.  The  sun  was  just  rising  above  the 
horizon,  and  touching  with  its  golden  colour  the  higher 
objects  of  the  scene, —  the  tall  cedars;  the  gray  crags, 
which  here  jutted  out  into  the  plain ;  the  towers  and 
columns  and  obelisks  of  the  st.ill  slumbering  city. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  117 

"  How  beautiful !  "  exclaimed  Fausta ;  "  but  look,  that  is 
more  beautiful  still, — that  moving  troop  of  horse!  See, 
even  at  this  distance  you  can  distinguish  the  form  and 
bearing  of  the  queen.  How  the  slant  beams  of  this  ruddy 
sun  make  her  dress,  and  the  harness  of  her  gallant  steed, 
to  sparkle !  Is  it  not  a  fair  sight,  Lucius  ?  " 

It  was  beautiful  indeed.  The  queen  was  conspicuous 
above  all,  not  more  for  her  form  and  bearing,  than  for  the 
more  than  imperial  magnificence  of  her  appointments.  It 
is  thus  she  is  always  seen  by  her  people,  dazzling  them 
equally  by  her  beauties  and  her  state.  As  she  drew  nearer, 
I  felt  that  I  had  never  before  seen  aught  on  earth  so  glo 
rious.  The  fiery  Arabian  that  bore  her  knew  as  well  as  I 
who  it  was  that  sat  upon  him ;  and  the  pride  of  his  carriage 
was  visible  in  a  thousand  expressive  movements.  Julia 
was  at  her  side,  differing  from  her  only  as  one  sun  differs 
from  another.  She,  like  Zenobia,  seemed  almost  a  part  of 
the  animal  that  bounded  beneath  her,  so  perfect  was  the 
art  with  which  she  rode. 

"  A  fair  morning  to  you  all, "  cried  the  queen,  accom 
panying  the  words  with  a  glance  that  was  reward  enough 
for  a  life  of  service.  "  The  day  smiles  upon  our  enterprise. 
Fausta,  if  you  will  join  me,  Piso  will  take  care  of  Julia; 
as  for  our  Zabdas  and  Longinus,  they  are  sad  loiterers.  " 

Saying  these  things,  scarcely  checking  her  steed,  and 
before  the  rest  of  the  party  had  quite  come  up,  we  darted 
on, —  the  queen  leading  the  way,  and  as  is  her  wont,  almost 
at  the  top  of  her  horse's  speed. 

"  Zenobia, "  said  Julia,  "  is  in  fine  spirits  this  morning, 
as  you  may  judge  from  her  beaming  countenance,  and  the 
rate  at  which  she  travels.  But  we  can  hardly  converse 
while  we  are  going  so  fast.  " 

"  No  bond  has  been  signed, "  said  I,  "  that  we  should  ride 
like  couriers.  Suppose,  princess,  we  slacken  our  pace.  " 

"  That  will  we, "  she  replied,  "  and  leave  it  to  the  queen 
to  announce  our  approach.  Here  now,  alas !  are  Zabdas  and 
Longinus  overtaking  us.  The  queen  wonders  at  your  de 
lay,  "  said  she,  addressing  them ;  "  put  spurs  to  your  horses, 
and  you  may  easily  overtake  her. " 


118  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Is  it  required  ?  "  asked  the  Egyptian,  evidently  willing 
to  linger. 

"  Not  so,  indeed, "  answered  Julia,  "  but  it  would  be  gaL 
lant;  the  queen,  save  Fausta,  is  alone.  How  can  we 
answer  it,  if  evil  befall  her  ?  Her  girth  may  break. " 

At  which  alarming  suggestion,  taking  it  as  merrily  as  it 
was  given,  the  two  counsellors  quickened  their  pace,  and 
bidding  us  good  morning,  soon,  as  we  saw,  at  the  ascent 
of  a  little  hill,  overtook  Zenobia. 

For  the  rest  of  us,  we  were  passing  and  repassing  each 
other,  mingling  and  separating  all  the  remainder  of  the 
way.  Our  road  lay  through  a  rather  rough  and  hilly  coun 
try,  but  here  and  there  sprinkled  with  bright  spots  of  the 
richest  beauty  and  highest  cultivation.  The  valleys,  when 
ever  we  descended  into  them,  we  found  well  watered  and 
tilled,  and  peopled  by  an  apparently  happy  peasantry.  And 
as  we  saw  them  from  first  one  eminence  and  then  another, 
stretching  away  and  winding  among  the  hills,  we  agreed 
that  they  presented  delicious  retreats  for  those  who,  weary 
of  the  world,  wished  to  taste,  toward  the  close  of  life,  the 
sweets  of  a  repose  which  the  world  never  knows.  As  we 
drew  toward  the  end  of  our  ride, —  a  ride  of  quite  twenty 
Koman  miles, — we  found  ourselves  forsaken  by  all  the  rest 
of  the  company,  owing  either  to  our  horses  not  being  equal 
to  the  others,  or  —  rather,  perhaps  —  to  the  frequent  pauses 
which  we  made  at  all  those  points  where  the  scenery  pre 
sented  anything  beautiful  or  uncommon. 

Everything  now  at  last  indicated  that  we  were  not  far 
from  the  royal  demesne.  All  around  were  marks  of  the 
hand  and  eye  of  taste  having  been  there,  and  of  the  outlay 
of  enormous  wealth.  It  was  not,  however,  till  we  had,  for 
a  mile  or  more,  ridden  through  lawns  and  fields  covered 
with  grains  and  fruits,  laid  out  in  divisions  of  tillage  or  of 
wood,  that,  emerging  from  a  dark  grove,  we  came  within 
sight  of  the  palace.  We  could  just  discern,  by  the  glitter 
ing  of  the  sun  upon  the  jewellery  of  their  horses,  that  the 
last  of  the  company  were  wheeling  into  the  grounds  in  front 
of  what  seemed  the  principal  part  of  the  vast  structure. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  119 

That  we  might  not  be  too  much  in  the  rear  of  all,  we  put 
spurs  to  our  horses,  which  then,  with  the  fleetness  of  wind, 
bore  us  to  the  outer  gates  of  the  palace.  Passing  these,  we 
were  in  a  moment  in  the  midst  of  those  who  had  preceded 
us,  the  grooms  and  slaves  of  the  palace  surrounding  us,  and 
taking  charge  of  our  horses.  Zenobia  was  still  standing  in 
the  great  central  portico,  where  she  had  dismounted,  her 
face  glowing  with  the  excitement  of  the  ride,  and  engaged 
in  free  discourse  with  the  group  around  her.  Soon  as  Julia 
reined  up  her  horse,  and  quicker  than  any  other  could  ap 
proach,  she  sprang  to  her  daughter's  side  and  assisted  her 
to  dismount,  holding  with  a  strong  hand,  the  while,  the 
fiery  and  restless  animal  she  rode. 

"  Welcome  in  safety,  Julia, "  said  the  queen,  "  and  thanks, 
noble  Piso,  for  your  care  of  your  charge.  But  perhaps  we 
owe  your  safety  more  to  the  strength  of  your  Arab's  girth, 
than  to  any  care  of  Piso. " 

Julia's  laugh  rang  merrily  through  the  arches  of  the 
portico. 

"  Truly, "  said  she,  "  I  was  glad  to  use  any  sudden  conceit 
by  which  to  gain  a  more  solitary  ride  than  I  was  like  to 
have.  It  was  my  ambition  to  be  Piso's  companion,  that  I 
might  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  pointing  out  to  new  eyes  the 
beauties  of  the  country.  I  trust  I  was  rightly  compre 
hended  by  our  grave  counsellors. " 

"  Assure  yourself  of  it, "  said  Longinus ;  "  and  though  we 
could  not  but  part  from  you  with  some  unwillingness,  yet 
seeing  whom  we  were  to  join,  we  bore  the  loss  with  such 
philosophy  as  we  were  able  to  summon  on  the  sudden. " 

Zenobia  now  led  the  way  to  the  banqueting-hall,  where 
tables  loaded  with  meats,  fruits,  and  wines  offered  them 
selves  most  temptingly  and  seasonably  to  those  who  had 
ridden,  post  as  it  were,  twenty  Eoman  miles. 

This  villa  of  the  queen's,  for  its  beauty  and  extent  un 
rivalled  in  all  the  East,  I  would  that  I  could  set  before  you, 
so  that  you  might  form  some  conception  of  its  greatness  and 
variety.  The  palace  stands  on  the  northern  extremity  of  a 
vast  plain,  just  where  the  wild  and  mountainous  region 


120  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

ends,  and  the  more  level  and  cultivated  begins.  To  the 
north  stretches  a  savage  country,  little  inhabited,  and  filled 
with  the  wild  animals  which  make  the  forests  of  Asia  so 
terrible.  This  is  the  queen's  hunting-ground.  It  was  here 
that,  with  Odenatus,  she  pursued  the  wild  boar,  the  tiger, 
or  the  panther,  with  a  daring  and  a  skill  that  astonished  the 
boldest  huntsmen.  It  was  in  these  forests  that  the  wretch 
Mseonius,  insolently  throwing  his  javelin  at  the  game,  just 
as  he  saw  his  uncle  was  about  to  strike,  incurred  that  just 
rebuke,  which,  however,  his  revengeful  nature  never  for 
gave,  and  was  appeased  only  with  the  blood  of  the  noble 
Palmyrene.  Zenobia  is  never  more  herself  than  when  she 
joins  the  chase  mounted  upon  her  fleet  Arabian,  and  roused 
to  all  her  power  by  the  presence  of  a  gallant  company  of  the 
boldest  spirits  of  Palmyra. 

The  southern  view,  and  which  my  apartments  overlook, 
presents  a  wide  expanse  of  level  ground,  or  gently  undulat 
ing,  offering  a  various  prospect  of  cultivated  fields,  un 
broken  lawns,  dense  groves,  of  standing  or  flowing  waters, 
of  light  bridges  spanning  them,  of  pavilions,  arbours,  stat 
ues,  standing  out  in  full  view,  or  just  visible  through  the 
rich  foliage  or  brilliant  flowering  plants  of  these  sunny  re 
gions.  The  scene  is  closed  by  the  low,  waving  outline  of  the 
country  through  which  we  passed  on  the  morning  of  our 
ride  from  Palmyra,  over  which  there  is  spread  a  thin  veil  of 
purple  haze,  adding  a  new  charm  to  whatever  objects  are 
dimly  discerned  through  it.  At  one  point  only  can  we, 
when  this  vapour  is  by  any  cause  diminished,  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  loftier  buildings  of  the  distant  city.  But 
the  palace  itself,  though  it  be  the  work  of  man,  and  not  of 
gods,  is  not  less  beautiful  than  all  these  aspects  of  nature. 
It  is  wholly  built  after  the  light  and  almost  fantastic  forms 
of  the  Persian  architecture,  which  seem  more  suited  to  a 
residence  of  this  kind  than  the  heavier  fashions  of  the 
Greek  or  Eoman  taste.  Hadrian's  villa  is  alone  to  be  com 
pared  with  it  for  vastness  and  magnificence,  and  that,  com 
pared  with  this,  seems  a  huge  prison,  so  gay  and  pleasing 
are  the  thoughts  and  sensations  with  which  this  dream-like 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  121 

combination  of  arch  upon  arch,  of  pinnacle,  dome,  and 
tower  —  all  enriched  with  the  most  minute  and  costly 
work  —  inspires  the  mind. 

Nothing  has  pleased  me  more  than  at  times,  when  the 
sultry  heats  of  the  day  forbid  alike  study  and  recreation,  to 
choose  for  myself  some  remote  and  shaded  spot,  and  lying 
along  upon  the  flowery  turf,  soothed  by  the  drowsy  hum  of 
the  summer  insects,  gaze  upon  this  gorgeous  pile  of  Orien 
tal  grandeur,  and  lazily  drink  in  the  draughts  of  a  beauty 
(as  I  believe)  nowhere  else  to  be  enjoyed.  When  at  such 
hours  Julia  or  Fausta  is  my  companion,  I  need  not  say  in 
how  great  a  degree  the  pleasure  is  heightened,  nor  what 
hues  of  a  more  rosy  tint  wrap  all  the  objects  of  the  scene. 
Fountains  here,  as  everywhere  in  the  Eastern  world,  are 
frequent,  and  of  such  size  as  to  exert  a  sensible  influence 
upon  the  heated  atmosphere.  Huge  columns  of  the  coldest 
water,  drawn  from  the  recesses  of  the  mountains,  are  thrown 
into  the  air,  and  then  foaming  over  rocks,  rudely  piled  to 
resemble  some  natural  cascade,  disappear,  and  are  led  by 
subterranean  conduits  to  distant  and  lower  parts  of  the 
ground.  These  fountains  take  many  and  fantastic  forms. 
In  the  centre  of  the  principal  court  of  the  palace  is  an 
enormous  elephant  of  stone,  who  disgorges  from  his  uplifted 
trunk  a  vast  but  graceful  shower,  sometimes  charged  with 
the  most  exquisite  perfumes,  and  which  are  diffused  by  the 
air  through  every  part  of  the  palace.  Around  this  fountain, 
reclining  upon  seats  constructed  to  allow  the  most  easy 
attitudes,  or  else  in  some  of  the  apartments  immediately 
opening  upon  it,  it  is  our  custom  to  pass  the  evening  hours, 
either  conversing  with  each  other,  or  listening  to  some  tale 
which  he  who  thinks  he  can  entertain  the  company  is  at 
liberty  to  relate,  or  gathering  at  once  instruction  and  de 
light,  as  Longinus,  either  from  his  memory  or  a  volume, 
imparts  to  us  the  choicest  parts  of  the  literature  of  Athens 
or  of  Home.  So  have  I  heard  the  (Edipus  Tyrannus,and  the 
Prometheus,  as  I  never  have  heard  them  before.  At  such 
times  it  is  beautiful  to  see  the  group  of  listeners  gathering 
nearer  and  nearer,  as  the  philosopher  reads  or  recites,  and 


122  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

catching  every  word  and  accent  of  that  divine  tongue  as  it 
falls  from  his  lips.  Zenobia,  alone,  of  all  who  are  chere. 
ever  presumes  to  interrupt  the  reader  with  either  question 
or  comment.  To  her  voice  Longinus  instantly  becomes  a 
willing  listener ;  and  well  may  he,  for  never  does  she  speak, 
at  such  moments,  without  adding  a  new  charm  to  whatever 
theme  she  touches.  Her  mind,  surprisingly  clear,  and 
deeply  imbued  with  the  best  spirit  of  ancient  learning, 
and  poetically  cast,  becomes  of  right  our  teacher ;  and  com 
mands  always  the  profound  respect,  if  not  always  the  as 
sent,  of  the  accomplished  Greek.  Not  unfrequently,  on 
such  casual  remark  of  the  queen,  the  reading  is  thereupon 
suspended,  and  discussion  between  her  and  the  philosopher, 
or  conversation  upon  topics  suggested,  in  which  we  all  take 
part,  ensues.  But,  however  this  may  be,  all  moves  on  in 
a  spirit  the  most  liberal,  frank,  and  free.  No  restraint  is 
upon  us  but  that  which  reverence  for  superior  learning  or 
goodness  or  beauty  imposes.  I  must  add,  that  on  these 
occasions  the  great  Zabdas  is  always  seen  to  compose  him 
self  to  his  slumbers,  from  which  ho  often  starts,  uttering 
loud  shouts,  as  if  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Our  bursts  of 
laughter  wake  him  not,  but  by  the  strange  power  of  sleep 
seem  to  be  heard  by  him  as  if  they  were  responsive  cries 
of  the  enemy,  and  only  cause  him  to  send  forth  louder 
shouts  than  ever.  "  Down  with  the  Egyptian  dogs  !  "  "  Let 
the  Nile  choke  with  their  carcasses !  "  "  The  queen  for  —  " 
and  then  his  voice  dies  away  in  inarticulate  sounds. 

But  I  should  weary  you  indeed,  were  I  to  go  on  to  tell  you  of 
half  the  beauties  and  delights  of  this  chosen  spot,  and  cause 
you,  perhaps,  to  be  discontented  with  that  quiet,  modest 
house  upon  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  I  leave  you,  therefore, 
to  fill  up  with  your  own  colours  the  outline  which  I  have 
now  set  before  you  as  I  best  could,  and  pass  to  other  things. 

Every  day  has  seen  its  peculiar  games  and  entertain 
ments.  Sometimes  the  queen's  slaves,  trained  to  their 
respective  feats,  have  wrestled  or  fought  or  run  for  our 
amusement.  At  other  times  we  ourselves  have  been  the 
performers.  Upon  the  race-course,  fleet  Arabians  have 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  123 

contended  for  the  prize,  or  those  who  have  esteemed  them 
selves  skilful,  have  tried  for  the  mastery  in  two  or  four 
horse  chariots.  Elephants  have  been  put  to  their  strength, 
and  dromedaries  to  their  speed.  But  our  chief  pleasure  has 
been  derived  from  trials  of  skill  and  of  strength  with  the 
lance  and  the  arrow,  and  from  the  chase. 

It  was  in  using  the  lance,  that  Antiochus  —  a  kinsman 
of  the  queen,  whom  I  believe  I  have  not  before  mentioned, 
although  I  have  many  times  met  him  —  chiefly  signalized 
himself.  This  person,  half  Syrian  and  half  Eoman,  pos 
sessing  the  bad  qualities  of  both,  and  the  good  ones  of 
neither,  was  made  one  of  this  party,  rather,  I  suppose,  because 
he  could  not  be  left  out,  than  because  he  was  wanted.  He 
has  few  friends  in  Palmyra  but  among  wild  and  dissolute 
spirits  like  himself.  He  is  famed  for  no  quality  either 
great  or  good.  Violent  passions  and  intemperate  lusts  are 
what  he  is  chiefly  noted  for.  But  except  that  pride  and 
arrogance  are  writ  upon  the  lines  of  his  countenance,  you 
would  hardly  guess  that  his  light-tinted  and  beardless 
cheeks,  and  soft  blue  eyes,  belonged  to  one  of  so  dark  and 
foul  a  soul.  His  frame  and  his  strength  are  those  of  a 
giant ;  yet  he  is  wholly  destitute  of  grace.  His  limbs  seem 
sometimes  as  if  they  were  scarcely  a  part  of  him,  such 
difficulty  does  he  discover  in  marshalling  them  aright. 
Consciousness  of  this  embarrasses  him,  and  sends  him  for 
refuge  to  his  pride,  which  darts  looks  of  anger  and  bitter 
revenge  upon  all  who  offend  or  make  light  of  him.  His 
ambition  is,  and  his  hope,  to  succeed  Zenobia.  You  may 
think  this  strange,  considering  the  family  of  the  queen. 
But  as  for  the  sons  of  Zenobia,  he  calculates  much,  so  it  is 
reported,  upon  their  weakness  both  of  mind  and  body,  as 
rendering  them  distasteful  to  the  Palmyrenes,  even  if  they 
should  live ;  and  as  for  Julia  and  her  sisters,  he  has  so  high 
conceptions  of  his  own  superior  merit,  that  he  doubts  not, 
in  case  of  the  queen's  demise,  that  the  people  would  by 
acclamation  select  him,  in  preference  to  them,  as  her  suc 
cessor  ;  or,  in  the  last  emergency,  that  it  would  be  but  to 
marry  Julia,  in  order  to  secure  the  throne  beyond  any  per- 


124  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

adventure.  These  are  the  schemes  which  many  do  not 
scruple  to  impute  to  him.  Whether  credited  or  not  by 
Zenobia,  I  cannot  tell.  But  were  they,  I  believe  she  would 
but  smile  at  the  poor  lack-brain  who  entertains  them. 
Intrenched  as  she  is  in  the  impregnable  fortress  of  her 
people's  heart,  she  might  well  despise  the  intrigues  of  a 
bolder  and  worthier  spirit  than  Antiochus.  For  him  she 
can  spare  neither  words  nor  thoughts. 

It  was  Fausta,  who,  a  few  days  ago,  as  we  rose  from  the 
tables,  proposed  that  we  should  try  our  strength  and  skill 
in  throwing  the  lance.  "  I  promised  you,  Lucius, "  said 
she,  "  that  when  here,  you  should  be  permitted  to  judge  of 
my  abilities  in  that  art.  Are  all  ready  for  the  sport  ?  " 

All  sprang  from  their  seats  like  persons  weary  of  one 
occupation,  and  grateful  for  the  proffer  of  another. 

Zenobia  led  the  way  to  the  grounds,  not  far  from  the 
palace,  appropriated  to  games  of  this  kind,  and  to  the 
various  athletic  sports.  Not  all  the  company  entered  the 
lists,  but  many  seated  themselves,  or  stood  around,  spec 
tators  of  the  strife.  Slaves  now  appeared,  bearing  the 
lances,  and  preparing  the  ground  for  our  exercise.  The 
feat  to  be  performed  seemed  to  me  not  difficult,  so  much  as 
impossible.  It  was  to  throw  the  lance  with  such  unerring 
aim  and  force  as  to  pass  through  an  aperture  in  a  shield  of 
fourfold  ox-hide,  of  a  size  but  slightly  larger  than  the  beam 
of  the  lance,  so  as  not  so  much  as  to  graze  the  sides  of  the 
perforated  place.  The  distance,  too,  of  the  point  from  which 
the  lance  was  to  be  thrown,  from  the  shield,  was  such  as 
to  require  great  strength  of  arm  to  overcome  it. 

The  young  Caesars  advanced  first  to  the  trial.  "  Now, " 
whispered  Fausta,  "  behold  the  vigour  of  the  royal  arm. 
Were  such  alone  our  defence,  well  might  Palmyra  tremble.  " 

Herennianus,  daintily  handling  and  brandishing  his 
lance,  in  the  manner  prescribed  at  the  schools  where  skill 
in  all  warlike  arts  is  taught,  and  having  drawn  all  eyes 
upon  him,  at  length  let  it  fly,  when,  notwithstanding  so 
much  preparatory  flourish,  it  fell  short  of  the  staff  upon 
which  the  shield  was  reared. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  125 

a  Just  from  the  tables, "  said  the  prince,  as  he  withdrew, 
angry  at  his  so  conspicuous  failure ;  "  and  how  can  one 
reach  what  he  can  scarcely  see  ?  " 

"  Our  arm  has  not  yet  recovered  from  its  late  injury, " 
said  Timolaus,  as  he  selected  his  weapon ;  "  yet  will  we 
venture  a  throw.  "  His  lance  reached  the  mast,  but  dropped 
feebly  at  its  foot.  Vabalathus,  saying  nothing,  and  putting 
all  his  strength  in  requisition,  drove  his  weapon  into  the 
staff,  where  it  stood  quivering  a  moment,  and  fell  to  the 
ground. 

Carias,  Seleucus,  Otho,  Gabrayas,  noblemen  of  Palmyra, 
now  successively  tried  their  fortune,  and  all  showed  them 
selves  well  trained  to  the  use  of  the  weapon,  by  each  fixing 
his  lance  in  the  body  of  the  shield,  and  in  the  near  neigh 
bourhood  of  the  central  hole. 

Zabdas,  now  suddenly  springing  from  his  seat,  which  he 
had  taken  among  those  who  apparently  declined  to  join  in 
the  sport,  seized  a  lance  from  the  hands  of  the  slave  who 
bore  them,  and  hurling  it  with  the  force  of  a  tempest,  the 
weapon,  hissing  along  the  air,  struck  the  butt  near  the 
centre ;  but  the  wood  of  which  it  was  made,  unused  to  such 
violence,  shivered  and  crumbled  under  the  blow.  Without 
a  word,  and  without  an  emotion,  so  far  as  the  face  was  its 
index,  the  Egyptian  returned  to  his  seat.  It  seemed  as  if 
he  had  done  the  whole  in  his  sleep.  It  is  actual  war  alone 
that  can  rouse  the  energies  of  Zabdas. 

Zenobia,  who  had  stood  leaning  upon  her  lance,  next 
advanced  to  the  trial.  Knowing  her  admirable  skill  at  all 
manly  exercises,  I  looked  with  certainty  to  see  her  surpass 
those  who  had  already  essayed  their  powers.  Nor  was  I 
disappointed.  With  a  wonderful  grace  she  quickly  threw 
herself  into  the  appointed  position,  and  with  but  a  moment's 
preparation,  and  as  if  it  cost  her  but  a  slight  effort,  sent  her 
lance  with  unerring  aim  and  incredible  swiftness  through 
the  hole.  Yet  was  not  the  feat  a  perfect  one.  For,  in 
passing  through  the  aperture,  the  weapon,  not  having  been 
driven  with  quite  sufficient  force,  did  not  preserve  its  level, 
so  that  the  end  grazed  the  shield,  and  the  lance,  then  con- 


126  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF   PALMYRA. 

sequently  taking  an  oblique  direction,  plunged  downward, 
and  buried  its  head  in  the  turf. 

"  Now,  Fausta, "  said  the  queen,  "  must  you  finish  what 
I  have  but  begun.  Let  us  now  see  your  weapon  sweep  on 
till  its  force  shall  be  evenly  spent. " 

"  When  Zenobia  fails, "  said  Fausta,  "  there  must  be  some 
evil  influence  abroad  that  shall  cripple  the  powers  of  others 
yet  more.  However,  let  me  try ;  for  I  have  promised  to 
prove  to  our  Eoman  friend  that  the  women  of  Palmyra  know 
the  use  of  arms  not  less  than  the  men. " 

So  saying,  she  chose  her  lance,  and  with  little  ceremony, 
and  almost  before  our  eyes  could  trace  her  movements,  the 
weapon  had  flown,  and  passing  through,  as  it  seemed,  the 
very  centre  of  the  perforated  space,  swept  on  till  its  force 
died  away  in  the  distance,  and  it  fell  gracefully  to  the 
ground. 

A  burst  of  applause  rose  from  the  surrounding  groups. 

"  I  knew, "  said  Zenobia,  "  that  I  could  trust  the  fame  of 
the  women  of  Palmyra  to  you.  At  the  harp,  the  needle,  or 
the  lance,  our  Fausta  has  no  equal ;  unless, "  turning  herself 
round,  "  in  my  own  Julia.  Now  we  will  see  what  your  arm 
can  do. " 

Standing  near  the  lances,  I  selected  one  eminent  for  its 
smoothness  and  polish,  and  placed  it  in  her  hand. 

With  a  form  of  so  much  less  apparent  vigour  than  either 
Zenobia  or  Fausta,  so  truly  Syrian  in  a  certain  soft  langour 
that  spreads  itself  over  her,  whether  at  rest  or  in  motion,  it 
was  amazing  to  see  with  what  easy  strength  she  held  and 
balanced  the  heavy  weapon.  Every  movement  showed  that 
there  lay  concealed  within  her  ample  power  for  this  and 
every  manly  exercise,  should  she  please  to  put  it  forth. 

"  At  the  schools, "  said  the  princess,  "  Fausta  and  I  went 
on  ever  with  equal  steps.  Her  advantage  lies  in  being  at 
all  times  mistress  of  her  power.  My  arm  is  often  treach 
erous,  through  failure  of  the  heart.  " 

It  was  not  difficult  to  see  the  truth  of  what  she  said  in 
her  varying  colour,  and  the  slightly  agitated  lance. 

But  addressing  herself  to  the  sport,  and  with  but  one 


THE   MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  127 

instant's  pause,  the  lance  flew  toward  the  shield,  and  en 
tering  the  opening,  but  not  with  a  perfect  direction,  it 
passed  not  through,  but  hung  there  by  the  head. 

"  Princess, "  said  Zabdas,  springing  from  his  repose  with 
more  than  wonted  energy,  "  that  lance  was  chosen,  as  I  saw, 
by  a  Koman.  Try  once  more  with  one  that  I  shall  choose, 
and  see  what  the  issue  will  be.  " 

"  Truly, "  said  Julia,  "  I  am  ready  to  seize  any  plea  under 
which  to  redeem  my  fame.  But  first  give  me  yourself  a 
lesson,  will  you  not  ?  " 

The  Egyptian  was  not  deaf  to  the  invitation,  and  once 
more  essaying  the  feat,  and  with  his  whole  soul  bent  to  the 
work,  the  lance,  quicker  than  sight,  darted  from  his  hand, 
and  following  in  the  wake  of  Fausta's,  lighted  farther  than 
hers  —  being  driven  with  more  force  —  upon  the  lawn. 

The  princess  now,  with  more  of  confidence  in  her  air, 
again  balanced  and  threw  the  lance  which  Zabdas  had 
chosen  —  this  time  with  success ;  for,  passing  through  the 
shield,  it  fell  side  by  side  with  Fausta's. 

"  Fortune  still  unites  us, "  said  Julia ;  "  if  for  a  time  she 
leaves  me  a  little  in  the  rear,  yet  she  soon  repents  of  the 
wrong,  and  brings  me  up.  "  Saying  which,  she  placed  her 
self  at  Fausta's  side. 

"  But  come,  our  worthy  cousin, "  said  the  queen,  now 
turning  and  addressing  Antiochus,  who  stood  with  folded 
arms,  dully  surveying  the  scene,  "  will  you  not  try  a  lance  ?  " 

"  '  T  is  hardly  worth  our  while, "  said  he,  "  for  the  gods 
seem  to  have  delivered  all  the  honour  and  power  of  the  East 
into  the  hands  of  women.  " 

"  Yet  it  may  not  be  past  redemption, "  said  Julia,  "  and 
who  more  likely  than  Hercules  to  achieve  so  great  a  work  ? 
Pray  begin. " 

That  mass  of  a  man,  hardly  knowing  whether  the  prin 
cess  were  jesting  or  in  earnest, —  for  to  the  usual  cloud  that 
rested  upon  his  intellect,  there  was  now  added  the  stupidity 
arising  from  free  indulgence  at  the  tables,  —  slowly  moved 
toward  the  lances,  and  selecting  the  longest  and  heaviest, 
took  his  station  at  the  proper  place.  Raising  then  his  arm, 


128  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

which  was  like  a  weaver's  beam,  and  throwing  his  enor 
mous  body  into  attitudes  which  showed  that  no  child's  play 
was  going  on,  he  let  drive  the  lance,  which,  shooting  with 
more  force  than  exactness  of  aim,  struck  upon  the  outer  rim 
of  the  shield,  and  then  glancing  sideways,  was  near  spear 
ing  a  poor  slave,  whose  pleasure  it  was,  with  others,  to 
stand  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  butt  to  pick  up  and 
return  the  weapons  thrown  or  withdraw  them  from  the 
shield  where  they  might  have  fastened  themselves. 

Involuntary  laughter  broke  forth  upon  this  unwonted 
performance  of  the  lance ;  upon  which  it  was  easy  to  see, 
by  the  mounting  colour  of  Antiochus,  that  his  passions  were 
inflamed.  Especially  —  did  we  afterwards  suppose  —  was 
he  enraged  at  the  exclamation  of  one  of  the  slaves  near  the 
shield,  who  was  heard  to  say  to  his  fellow,  "  Now  is  the 
reign  of  women  at  an  end.  *  Seizing,  however,  on  the 
instant,  another  lance,  he  was  heard  to  exclaim,  by  a  few 
who  stood  near  him,  but  who  did  not  take  the  meaning  of 
the  words :  "  With  a  better  mark,  there  may  be  a  better 
aim.  "  Then,  resuming  his  position,  he  made  at  first,  by  a 
long  and  steady  aim,  as  if  he  were  going,  with  certainty, 
now  to  hit  the  shield ;  but,  changing  suddenly  the  direction 
of  his  lance,  he  launched  it,  with  fatal  aim  and  a  giant's 
force,  at  the  slave  who  had  uttered  those  words.  It  went 
through  him  as  he  had  been  but  a  sheet  of  papyrus,  and 
then  sang  along  the  plain.  The  poor  wretch  gave  one  con 
vulsive  leap  into  the  air,  and  dropped  dead. 

"  Zenobia !  "  exclaimed  Julia. 

"  Great  queen !  "  said  Fausta. 

"  Shameful !  *  "  Dastardly !  "  "  Cowardly !  "  broke  from 
one  and  another  of  the  company. 

"  That 's  the  mark  I  never  miss, "  observed  Antiochus ;  and 
at  the  same  time  regaled  his  nose  from  a  box  of  perfume. 

"  '  T  is  his  own  chattel, "  said  the  queen ;  "  he  may  do 
with  it  as  he  lists.  He  has  trenched  upon  no  law  of  the 
realm,  but  only  upon  those  of  breeding  and  humanity.  Our 
presence,  and  that  of  this  company,  might,  we  think,  have 
claimed  a  more  gentle  observance. " 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  129 

"  Dogs !  "  fiercely  shouted  Antioclms,  —  who,  as  the  queen 
said  these  words,  her  eyes  fastened  indignantly  upon  him, 
had  slunk  sulkily  to  his  seat,  —  "  dogs, "  said  he,  aiming 
suddenly  to  brave  the  matter,  "  off  with  yonder  carrion !  — 
it  offends  the  queen.  " 

"  Would  our  cousin, "  said  Zenobia,  "  win  the  hearts  of 
Palmyra,  this  surely  is  a  mistaken  way.  Come,  let  us  to 
the  palace ;  this  spot  is  tainted.  But  that  it  may  be  sweet 
ened,  as  far  as  may  be,  slaves, "  she  cried,  "  bring  to  the 
gates  the  chariot  and  other  remaining  chattels  of  Antiochus !  " 

Antiochus,  at  these  words,  pale  with  the  apprehensions 
of  a  cowardly  spirit,  rose  and  strode  toward  the  palace,  from 
which  in  a  few  moments  he  was  seen  on  his  way  to  the  city. 

"  You  may  judge  me  needlessly  harsh,  Piso, "  said  the 
queen,  as  we  now  sauntered  toward  the  palace,  "  but  truly, 
the  condition  of  the  slave  is  such,  that  seeing  the  laws 
protect  him  not,  we  must  do  something  to  enlist  in  his 
behalf  the  spirit  of  humanity.  The  breach  of  courtesy, 
however,  was  itself  not  to  be  forgiven.  " 

"  It  was  a  merciful  fate  of  the  slave, "  said  I,  "  compared 
with  what  our  Eoman  slaves  suffer.  To  be  lashed  to  death, 
or  crucified,  or  burned,  or  flayed  alive,  or  torn  by  dogs,  or 
thrown  as  food  for  fishes,  is  something  worse  than  this 
quick  exit  of  the  thrall  of  Antiochus.  You  of  these  softer 
climes  are  in  your  nature  milder  than  we,  and  are  more 
moved  by  scenes  like  this.  What  would  you  think,  queen, 
to  see  not  one,  but  scores  or  hundreds  of  these  miserable 
beings,  upon  bare  suspicion  of  attempts  against  their  mas 
ter's  life,  condemned,  by  their  absolute  irresponsible  pos 
sessors,  to  death  in  all  its  most  revolting  forms?  Nay, 
even  our  Koman  women,  of  highest  rank  and  gentlest  nur 
ture,  stand  by  while  their  slaves  are  scourged,  or  them 
selves  apply  the  lash.  If  under  this  torture  they  die,  it  is 
thought  of  but  as  the  death  of  vermin.  War  has  made  with 
us  this  sort  of  property  of  so  cheap  possession  that  to  de 
stroy  it  is  often  a  necessary  measure  of  economy.  By  a 
Roman,  nothing  is  less  regarded  than  life.  And,  in  truth, 
I  see  not  how  it  can  be  otherwise. " 

9 


130  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

*  But  surely, "  said  Julia,  "  you  do  not  mean  to  defend 
this  condition  of  life.  It  is  not  like  the  sentiments  I  have 
heard  you  express. " 

"  I  defend  it  only  thus, "  I  replied ;  "  so  long  as  we  have 
wars  —  and  when  will  they  cease?  —  there  must  be  cap 
tives  ;  and  what  can  these  be  but  slaves  ?  To  return  them 
to  their  own  country,  were  to  war  to  no  purpose.  To  colo 
nize  them,  were  to  strip  war  of  its  horrors.  To  make  them 
freemen  of  our  own  soil,  were  to  fill  the  land  with  foes  and 
traitors.  Then,  if  there  must  be  slaves,  there  must  be  mas 
ters  and  owners ;  and  the  absolute  master  of  other  human 
beings,  responsible  to  no  one,  can  be  no  other  than  a  tyrant. 
If  he  has,  as  he  must  have,  the  power  to  punish  at  will,  he 
will  exercise  it,  and  that  cruelly.  If  he  has  the  power  to 
kill,  as  he  must  have,  then  will  he  kill  and  kill  cruelly, 
when  his  nature  prompts.  And  that  his  nature  will  prompt, 
or,  if  not  his  nature  absolutely,  yet  his  educated  nature. 
Our  children  grow  up  within  the  sight  and  sound  of  all  the 
horrors  and  sufferings  of  this  state  of  things.  They  use 
their  slaves  —  with  which,  almost  in  infancy,  they  are 
provided  —  according  to  their  pleasure,  as  dogs,  as  horses ; 
they  lash,  they  scourge  them,  long  before  they  have  the 
strength  to  kill.  What  wonder  if  the  boy,  who,  when  a 
boy,  used  a  slave  as  his  beast  of  burden,  or  his  footstool, 
when  he  grows  to  be  a  man,  should  use  him  as  a  mark  to  be 
shot  at  ?  The  youth  of  Antiochus  was  reared  in  Eome.  I 
presume  to  say  that  his  earliest  playthings  were  slaves  and 
the  children  of  slaves.  I  am  not  surprised  at  his  act.  And 
such  acts  are  too  common  in  Eome  for  this  to  disturb  me 
much.  The  education  of  Antiochus  was  continued  and 
completed,  I  may  venture  also  to  say,  at  the  circus.  I 
think  the  result  very  natural.  It  cannot  be  very  different 
where  slavery  and  the  sports  of  the  amphitheatre  exist. " 

"  I  perceive  your  meaning, "  said  Julia ;  "  Antiochus  you 
affirm  to  be  the  natural  product  of  the  customs  and  institu 
tions  which  now  prevail.  It  is  certainly  so,  and  must  con 
tinue  so,  until  some  new  element  shall  be  introduced  into 
society,  that  shall  ultimately  reform  its  practices,  by  first 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  131 

exalting  the  sentiments  and  the  character  of  the  individual 
Such  an  element  do  I  detect  —  " 

"  In  Christianity, "  said  Fausta ;  "  this  is  your  panacea. 
May  it  prove  all  you  desire ;  yet  methinks  it  gives  small 
promise,  seeing  it  has  already  been  at  work  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  and  has  accomplished  no  more.  " 

"  A  close  observer, "  replied  Julia,  "  sees  much  of  the 
effect  of  Christianity  beside  that  which  appears  upon  the 
surface.  If  I  err  not  greatly,  a  few  years  more  will  reveal 
what  this  religion  has  been  doing  these  two  centuries  and 
more.  Eevolutions  which  are  acted  out  in  a  day  have  often 
been  years  or  centuries  in  preparation.  An  eye  that  will 
see,  may  see  the  final  issue  a  long  time  foreshadowed  in  the 
tendencies  and  character  of  a  preceding  age.  " 

The  princess  uttered  this  with  earnestness.  I  have  re 
flected  upon  it.  And  if  you,  my  Curtius,  will  look  around 
upon  the  state  of  the  empire,  you  will  find  many  things  to 
startle  you.  But  of  this  another  time. 

Assembled  in  the  evening,  in  the  court  of  the  elephant, 
we  were  made  to  forget  whatever  had  proved  disagreeable 
during  the  day,  while  we  listened  to  the  "  Frogs, "  read  by 
Julia  and  Longinus. 

The  following  day  was  appointed  for  the  chase,  and  early 
in  the  morning  I  was  waked  by  the  braying  of  trumpets  and 
the  baying  of  dogs.  I  found  the  queen  already  mounted 
and  equipped  for  the  sport,  surrounded  by  Zabdas,  Longi 
nus,  and  a  few  of  the  nobles  of  Palmyra.  We  were  soon 
joined  by  Julia  and  Fausta.  In  order  to  insure  our  sport, 
a  tiger,  made  fierce  by  being  for  some  days  deprived  of  food, 
had  the  preceding  evening  been  let  loose  from  the  royal 
collection  into  the  neighbouring  forests.  These  forests, 
abounding  in  game,  commence  immediately,  as  it  were,  in 
the  rear  of  the  palace.  They  present  a  boundless  continuity 
of  crag,  mountain,  and  wooded  plain,  offering  every  variety  of 
ground  to  those  who  seek  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  The 
sun  had  not  been  long  above  the  horizon  when  we  sallied 
forth  from  the  palace  gates,  and  from  the  smooth  and  shaven 
fields  of  the  royal  demesne  plunged  at  once  into  — 


132  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN   OF  PALMYRA. 

It  was  a  moment  of  inexpressible  horror.  At  the  same 
instant  our  eyes  caught  the  form  of  the  famished  tiger,  just 
in  the  act  to  spring  from  the  crag  upon  the  unconscious 
queen.  But  before  we  had  time  to  alarm  Zenobia,  —  which 
would  indeed  have  been  useless, — a  shaft  from  an  unerring 
arm  arrested  the  monster  mid-air,  whose  body  then  tum 
bled  heavily  at  the  feet  of  Zenobia 's  Arab.  The  horse, 
rearing  with  affright,  had  nearly  dashed  the  queen  against 
the  opposite  rocks,  but  keeping  her  seat,  she  soon,  by  her 
powerful  arm  and  complete  horsemanship,  reduced  him 
to  his  obedience,  though  trembling  like  a  terrified  child 
through  every  part  of  his  body.  A  thrust  from  my  hunt 
ing-spear  quickly  despatched  the  dying  beast.  We  now 
gathered  around  the  queen. 

Hardly  were  we  arrived  at  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  palace, 
when  a  cloud  of  dust  was  observed  to  rise  in  the  direction 
of  the  road  to  Palmyra,  as  if  caused  by  a  body  of  horse  in 
rapid  movement.  "  What  may  this  mean  ?  "  said  Zenobia ; 
"  orders  were  strict,  that  our  brief  retirement  should  not  be 
disturbed.  This  indicates  an  errand  of  some  urgency.  " 

"  Some  embassy  from  abroad,  perhaps, "  said  Julia,  "  that 
cannot  brook  delay.  It  may  be  from  your  great  brother  at 
Kome. " 

While  we,  in  a  sportive  humour,  indulged  in  various 
conjectures,  an  official  of  the  palace  announced  the  approach 
of  a  Roman  herald,  "  who  craved  permission  to  address  the 
Queen  of  Palmyra.  "  He  was  ordered  to  advance. 

In  a  few  moments,  upon  a  horse  covered  with  dust  and 
foam,  appeared  the  Roman  herald.  Without  one  moment's 
hesitancy,  he  saw  in  Zenobia  the  queen,  and  taking  off  his 
helmet,  and  bending  to  his  saddle-bow,  said,  "  that  Caius 
Petronius  and  Cornelius  Varro,  ambassadors  of  Aurelian, 
were  in  waiting  at  the  outer  gates  of  the  palace,  and  asked 
a  brief  audience  of  the  Queen  of  Palmyra,  upon  affairs  of 
deepest  interest,  both  to  Zenobia  and  the  emperor. " 

"  It  is  not  our  custom, "  said  Zenobia,  in  reply,  "  when 
seeking  repose,  as  now,  from  the  cares  of  state,  to  allow 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  133 

aught  to  break  it.  But  we  will  not  be  selfish  nor  churlish. 
Bid  the  servants  of  your  emperor  draw  near,  and  we  will 
hear  them. " 

I  was  not  unwilling  that  the  messengers  of  Aurelian 
should  see  Zenobia  just  as  she  was  now.  Sitting  upon  her 
noble  Arabian,  and  leaning  upon  her  hunting-spear,  her 
countenance  glowing  with  a  higher  beauty  than  ever  before, 
as  it  seemed  to  me ;  her  head  surmounted  with  a  Parthian 
hunting-cap,  from  which  drooped  a  single  ostrich  feather, 
springing  from  a  diamond  worth  a  nation's  rental;  her  cos 
tume  also  Parthian,  and  revealing  in  the  most  perfect  man 
ner  the  just  proportions  of  her  form, —  I  thought  I  had  never 
seen  even  her,  when  she  so  filled  and  satisfied  the  eye  and 
the  mind,  and  for  that  moment  I  was  almost  a  traitor  to 
Aurelian.  Had  Julia  filled  her  seat,  I  should  have  been 
quite  so.  As  it  was,  I  could  worship  her  who  sat  her  steed 
with  no  less  grace,  upon  the  left  of  the  queen,  without  be 
ing  guilty  of  that  crime.  On  Zenobia 's  right  were  Lon- 
ginus  and  Zabdas,  Gracchus,  and  the  other  noblemen  of 
Palmyra.  I  and  Fausta  were  near  Julia.  In  this  manner, 
just  as  we  had  come  in  from  the  chase,  did  we  await  the 
ambassadors  of  Aurelian. 

Announced  by  trumpets,  and  followed  by  their  train,  they 
soon  wheeled  into  the  lawn,  and  advanced  toward  the  queen. 
"  Caius  Petronius  and  Cornelius  Varro, "  said  Zenobia,  first 
addressing  the  ambassadors,  and  moving  toward  them  a  few 
paces,  "  we  bid  you  heartily  welcome  to  Palmyra.  If  we 
receive  you  thus  without  form,  you  must  take  the  blame 
partly  to  yourselves,  who  have  sought  us  with  such  haste. 
We  put  by  the  customary  observances,  that  we  may  cause 
you  no  delay.  These  whom  you  see  are  all  friends  or  coun 
sellors.  Speak  your  errand  without  restraint.  " 

"  We  come, "  replied  Petronius,  "  as  you  may  surmise, 
great  queen,  upon  no  pleasing  errand.  Yet  we  cannot  but 
persuade  ourselves  that  the  Queen  of  Palmyra  will  listen 
to  the  proposals  of  Aurelian,  and  preserve  the  good  under 
standing  which  has  lasted  so  long  between  the  West  and  the 
East.  There  have  been  brought  already  to  your  ears,  if  I 


134  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

have  been  rightly  informed,  rumours  of  dissatisfaction  on 
the  part  of  our  emperor  with  the  affairs  of  the  East,  and  of 
plans  of  an  Eastern  expedition.  It  is  my  business  now  to 
say  that  these  rumours  have  been  well  founded.  I  have 
further  to  say  that  the  object  at  which  Aurelian  has  aimed, 
in  the  preparations  he  has  made,  is  not  Persia,  but  Palmyra.  " 

"  He  does  us  too  much  honour, "  said  Zenobia,  her  colour 
rising,  and  her  eye  kindling ;  "  and  what,  may  I  ask,  are 
specifically  his  demands,  and  the  price  of  peace  ? " 

"  For  a  long  series  of  years, "  replied  the  ambassador, 
"  the  wealth  of  Egypt  and  the  East,  as  you  are  aware,  flowed 
into  the  Eoman  treasury.  The  stream  has  been  diverted  to 
Palmyra.  Egypt  and  Syria,  and  Bithynia  and  Mesopo 
tamia,  were  dependants  upon  Eome  and  Koman  provinces. 
It  is  needless  to  say  what  they  now  are.  The  Queen  of 
Palmyra  was  once  but  the  Queen  of  Palmyra ;  she  is  now 
Queen  of  Egypt  and  of  the  East,  Augusta  of  the  Eoman 
empire  —  her  sons  styled  and  arrayed  as  Caesars.  By  what 
ever  consent  of  former  emperors  these  honours  have  been 
won  or  permitted,  it  is  not,  we  are  required  to  say,  with 
the  consent  of  Aurelian.  By  whatever  service  in  behalf  of 
Eome  they  may,  in  the  judgment  of  some,  be  thought  to  be 
deserved,  in  the  judgment  of  Aurelian  the  reward  exceeds 
greatly  the  value  of  the  service  rendered.  But  while  he 
would  not  be  deemed  insensible  to  those  services,  and  while 
he  honours  the  greatness  and  the  genius  of  Zenobia,  he 
would,  he  conceives,  be  unfaithful  to  the  interests  of  those 
who  have  raised  him  to  his  high  office,  if  he  did  not  require 
that  in  the  East,  as  in  the  West,  the  Eoman  empire  should 
again  be  restored  to  the  limits  which  bounded  it  in  the 
reigns  of  the  virtuous  Antonines.  This  he  holds  essential 
to  his  own  honour  and  the  glory  of  the  Eoman  world. " 

"  You  have  delivered  yourself,  Caius  Petronius, "  replied 
the  queen,  in  a  calm  and  firm  voice,  "  as  it  became  a  Eoman 
to  do,  with  plainness,  and  as  I  must  believe,  without  re 
serve.  So  far  I  honour  you.  Now  hear  me,  and  as  you  hear, 
so  report  to  him  who  sent  you.  Tell  Aurelian  that  what 
I  am,  I  have  made  myself ;  that  the  empire  which  hails  me 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PALACE.  135 

queen,  has  been  moulded  into  what  it  is  by  Odenatus  and 
Zenobia ;  it  is  no  gift,  but  an  inheritance,  a  conquest,  and 
a  possession ;  it  is  held,  not  by  favour,  but  by  right  of  power, 
and  that  when  he  will  give  away  possessions  or  provinces 
which  he  claims  as  his  or  Rome's  for  the  asking,  I  will  give 
away  Egypt  and  the  Mediterranean  coast.  Tell  him  that  as 
I  have  lived  a  queen,  so,  the  gods  helping,  I  will  die  a 
queen, —  that  the  last  moment  of  my  reign  and  my  life  shall 
be  the  same.  If  he  is  ambitious,  let  him  be  told  that  I  am 
ambitious  too, —  ambitious  of  wider  and  yet  wider  empire, 
of  an  unsullied  fame,  and  of  my  people's  love.  Tell  him  I 
do  not  speak  of  gratitude  on  the  part  of  Rome,  but  that 
posterity  will  say  that  the  power  which  stood  between  Rome 
and  Persia  and  saved  the  empire  in  the  East,  which  avenged 
the  death  of  Valerian,  and  twice  pursued  the  king  of  kings 
as  far  as  the  gates  of  Ctesiphon,  deserved  some  fairer  ac 
knowledgment  than  the  message  you  now  bring,  at  the 
hands  of  a  Roman  emperor. " 

"  Let  the  queen, "  quickly  rejoined  Petronius,  but  evi 
dently  moved  by  what  he  had  heard,  —  "  let  the  queen  fully 
take  me.  Aurelian  purposes  not  to  invade  the  fair  region 
where  I  now  am,  and  where  my  eyes  are  rejoiced  by  this 
goodly  show  of  city,  plain,  and  country.  He  hails  you 
queen  of  Palmyra!  He  does  but  ask  again  those  appen 
dages  of  your  greatness  which  have  been  torn  from  Rome, 
and  were  once  the  members  of  her  body. " 

"  Your  emperor  is  gracious  indeed !  "  replied  the  queen, 
smiling ;  "  if  he  may  hew  off  my  limbs,  he  will  spare  the 
trunk !  —  and  what  were  the  trunk  without  the  limbs  ?  " 

"  And  is  this, "  said  Petronius,  his  voice  significant  of 
inward  grief,  "  that  which  I  must  carry  back  to  Rome  ?  Is 
there  no  hope  of  a  better  adjustment  ?  " 

"  Will  not  the  Queen  of  Palmyra  delay  for  a  few  days  her 
final  answer  ? "  added  Varro ;  "  I  see,  happily,  in  her  train 
a  noble  Roman,  from  whom,  as  well  as  from  us,  she  may 
obtain  all  needful  knowledge  of  both  the  character  and  pur 
poses  of  Aurelian.  We  are  at  liberty  to  wait  her  pleasure.  " 

*  You  have  our  thanks,  Romans,  for  your  courtesy,  and 


136  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

we  accept  your  offer ;  although  in  what  I  have  said,  I  think 
I  have  spoken  the  sense  of  my  people. " 

"  You  have,  indeed,  great  queen, "  interrupted  Zabdas, 
with  energy. 

"  Yet  I  owe  it  to  my  trusty  counsellor,  the  great  Lon- 
ginus, "  continued  the  queen,  "  and  who  now  thinks  not 
with  me,  to  look  farther  into  the  reasons  —  which,  because 
they  are  his,  must  be  strong  ones  —  by  which  he  supports 
an  opposite  judgment. " 

"  Those  reasons  have  now,  *  said  the  Greek,  "  lost  much 
or  all  of  their  force, "  Zabdas  smiled  triumphantly :  "  yet 
still  I  would  advocate  delay.  " 

"  Let  it  be  so,  then, "  said  the  queen ;  "  and  in  the  mean 
while  let  the  ambassadors  of  Aurelian  not  refuse  the  hos 
pitalities  of  the  Eastern  queen.  Our  palace  is  yours  while 
it  shall  please  you  to  remain.  " 

"  For  the  night  and  the  morning,  queen,  we  accept  your 
offer ;  then,  as  strangers  in  this  region,  we  would  return  to 
the  city,  to  see  better  than  we  have  yet  done  the  objects 
which  it  presents.  It  seemed  to  us,  on  a  hasty  glance,  sur 
rounded  by  its  luxuriant  plains,  like  the  habitations  of 
gods.  We  would  dwell  there  a  space.  " 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  will.  Let  me  now  conduct  you  to  the 
palace. " 

So  saying,  and  putting  spurs  to  her  horse,  Zenobia  led 
the  way  to  the  palace,  followed  by  a  long  train  of  Eomans 
and  Palmyrenes.  The  generous  hospitality  of  the  tables 
closed  the  day,  and  wore  away  the  night 


COLUMN  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  TIJE  SUN. 


THE  HERMIT.  137 


LETTEK  VIL 

THE   HERMIT. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    HERMIT.  —  THE   DOCTRINE  OF    THE  GOSPEL.— 
THE  STORY  OP  CYPRIAN.  —  THE  HERMIT'S  GIFT. 

YOU  will  be  glad  to  learn,  my  Curtius,  that  the  time  has 
now  come  when  I  may  with  reason  look  for  news 
from  Isaac,  or  for  his  return.  It  was  his  agreement  to 
write  of  his  progress,  so  soon  as  he  should  arrive  at  Ecba- 
tana.  But  since  he  would  consume  but  a  very  few  days  in 
the  accomplishment  of  his  task,  if,  the  gods  helping,  he 
should  be  able  to  accomplish  it  at  all,  I  may  see  him  even 
before  I  hear  from  him,  and,  0  day  thrice  happy,  my 
brother  perhaps  with  him !  Yet  am  I  not  without  solici 
tude,  even  though  Calpurnius  should  return.  For  how 
shall  I  meet  him,  —  as  a  Persian,  or  a  Eoman ;  as  a 
friend,  or  an  enemy?  As  a  brother,  I  can  never  cease  to 
love  him ;  as  a  public  enemy  of  Eome,  I  may  be  obliged  to 
condemn  him. 

You  have  indeed  gratified  me  by  what  you  have  told  me 
concerning  the  public  works  in  which  the  emperor  is  now 
engaged.  Would  that  the  erection  of  temples  and  palaces 
might  draw  away  his  thoughts  from  the  East.  The  new 
wall,  of  so  much  wider  sweep,  with  which  he  is  now  en 
closing  the  city,  is  well  worthy  the  greatness  of  his  genius. 
Yet  do  we,  my  Curtius,  perceive,  in  this  rebuilding  and 
strengthening  of  the  walls  of  Kome,  no  indication  of  our 
country's  decline  ?  Were  Eome  vigorous  and  sound,  as 
once,  in  her  limbs,  what  were  the  need  of  this  new  defence 
about  the  heart?  It  is  to  me  a  confession  of  weakness, 
rather  than  any  evidence  of  greatness  and  strength.  Aure- 
lian  achieves  more  for  Eome  by  the  strictness  of  his  disci- 


138  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

pline,  and  his  restoration  of  the  ancient  simplicity  and 
severity  among  the  troops,  than  he  could  by  a  triple  wall 
about  the  metropolis.  Home  will  then  already  have  fallen 
when  a  Gothic  army  shall  have  penetrated  so  far  as  even  to 
have  seen  her  gates.  The  walls  of  Eome  are  her  living  and 
moving  walls  of  flesh.  Her  old  and  crumbling  ramparts  of 
masonry,  upon  which  we  have  so  often  climbed  in  sport, 
rolling  down  into  the  surrounding  ditch  huge  masses,  have 
ever  been  to  me,  when  I  thought  of  them,  pregnant  signs 
of  security  and  power. 

The  ambassadors,  Petronius  and  Varro,  early  on  the 
morning  succeeding  their  interview  with  the  queen,  de 
parted  for  the  city.  They  were  soon  followed  by  Zenobia 
and  her  train  of  counsellors  and  attendants.  It  had  been 
before  agreed  that  the  princess,  Fausta,  and  myself  should 
remain  longer  at  the  palace,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting,  as 
had  been  proposed,  the  aged  Christian  hermit,  whose  retreat 
is  among  the  fastnesses  of  the  neighbouring  mountains.  I 
would  rather  have  accompanied  the  queen,  seeing  it  was  so 
certain  that  important  interviews  and  discussions  would 
take  place,  when  they  should  be  all  returned  once  more  to 
the  city.  I  suppose  this  was  expressed  in  my  countenance, 
for  the  queen,  as  she  took  her  seat  in  the  chariot,  turned 
and  said  to  me,  "  We  shall  soon  see  you  again  in  the  city. 
A  few  hours  in  the  mountains  will  be  all  that  Julia  will 
require ;  and  sure  I  am  that  the  wisdom  of  Saint  Thomas 
will  more  than  repay  you  for  what  you  may  lose  in  Palmyra. 
Our  topics  relate  but  to  worldly  aggrandisement ;  yours  to 
more  permanent  interests. " 

How  great  a  pity  that  the  love  of  glory  has  so  fastened 
upon  the  heart  of  this  wonderful  woman;  else  might  she 
live  and  reign  and  die  the  object  of  a  universal  idolatry. 
But  set,  as  her  heart  is,  upon  conquest  and  universal  em 
pire  throughout  the  East,  and  of  such  marvellous  power  to 
subdue  every  intellect,  even  the  strongest,  to  her  will,  I 
can  see  nothing  before  her  but  a  short  and  brilliant  career, 
indeed,  ending  in  ruin,  absolute  and  complete.  Zenobia 
has  not,  or  will  not  allow  it  to  be  seen  that  she  has,  any 


THE   HERMIT.  139 

proper  conception  of  the  power  of  Kome.  She  judges  of 
Home  by  the  feeble  Valerian  and  the  unskilful  Heracli- 
anus,  and  by  their  standard  measures  such  men  as  Aure- 
lian  and  Probus  and  Carus.  She  may,  indeed,  gain  a 
single  battle;  for  her  genius  is  vast,  and  her  troops  well 
disciplined  and  brave.  But  the  loss  of  a  battle  would  be 
to  her  the  loss  of  empire ;  while  to  Eome  it  would  be  but  as 
the  sting  of  a  summer  insect.  Yet  this  she  does  not,  or 
will  not,  see.  To  triumph  over  Aurelian  is,  I  believe,  the 
vision  that  dazzles,  deludes,  and  will  destroy  her. 

No  sooner  had  the  queen  and  her  train  departed,  than, 
mounting  our  horses,  we  took  our  way  —  Julia,  Fausta,  and 
myself  —  through  winding  valleys  and  over  rugged  hills, 
toward  the  hermit's  retreat.  Reaching  the  base  of  what 
seemed  an  almost  inaccessible  crag,  we  found  it  necessary 
to  leave  our  horses  in  the  care  of  attendant  slaves,  and 
pursue  the  remainder  of  the  way  on  foot.  The  hill  which 
we  now  had  to  ascend  was  thickly  grown  over  with  every 
variety  of  tree  and  bush,  with  here  and  there  a  mountain 
stream  falling  from  rock  to  rock,  and  forcing  its  way  to  the 
valley  below.  The  sultry  heat  of  the  day  compelled  us 
frequently  to  pause,  as  we  toiled  up  the  side  of  the  hill, 
seating  ourselves,  now  beneath  the  dark  shadows  of  a 
branching  cedar  or  the  long-lived  terebinth,  and  now  on 
the  mossy  banks  of  a  descending  brook.  The  mingled 
beauty  and  wildness  of  the  scene,  together  with  such  com 
panions,  soon  drove  the  queen,  Rome,  and  Palmyra,  from 
my  thoughts.  I  could  not  but  wish  that  we  might  lose  our 
way  to  the  hermit's  cave,  that,  by  such  means,  our  walk 
might  be  prolonged. 

"  Is  it,  I  wonder, "  said  Fausta,  "  the  instruction  of  his 
religion  which  confines  this  Christian  saint  to  these  distant 
solitudes  ?  What  a  singular  faith  it  must  be  which  should 
drive  all  who  embrace  it  to  the  woods  and  rocks !  What 
would  become  of  our  dear  Palmyra,  were  it  to  be  changed 
to  a  Christian  city?  The  same  event,  I  suppose,  Julia, 
would  change  it  to  a  desert  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  think  Christianity  prescribes  this  mode  of  life, 


14U  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  FALMYKA. 

though  I  do  not  know  but  it  may  permit  it, "  replied  the 
princess.  "  But  of  this  Saint  Thomas  will  inform  us.  He 
may  have  chosen  this  retreat  on  account  of  his  extreme  age, 
which  permits  him  no  longer  to  engage  in  the  affairs  of  an 
active  life. " 

"  I  trust  for  the  sake  of  Christianity  it  is  so, "  added 
Fausta ;  "  for  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  true  religion  inculcat 
ing,  or  even  permitting,  inactivity.  What  would  become 
of  the  world,  if  it  could  be  proved  that  the  gods  required 
us  to  pass  our  days  in  retired  contemplation  ?  " 

"  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied, "  said  Julia,  "  that  the  greatest 
benefactors  of  mankind  have  been  those  who  have  in  soli 
tude,  and  with  patient  labour,  pursued  truth  till  they  have 
discovered  it,  and  then  revealed  it  to  shed  its  light  and  heat 
upon  the  world. " 

"  For  my  part, "  replied  Fausta,  "  I  must  think  that  they 
who  have  sowed  and  reaped  have  been  equal  benefactors. 
The  essential  truths  are  instinctive  and  universal.  As  for 
the  philosophers,  they  have,  with  few  exceptions,  been  oc 
cupied  as  much  about  mere  frivolities  as  any  Palmyrene 
lady  at  her  toilet.  Still,  I  do  not  deny  that  the  contem 
plative  race  is  a  useful  one  in  its  way.  What  I  say  is,  that 
a  religion  which  enjoined  a  solitary  life  as  a  duty,  would 
be  a  very  mischievous  religion.  And  what  is  more,  any 
such  precept,  fairly  proved  upon  it,  would  annihilate  all  its 
claims  to  a  divine  origin.  For  certainly,  if  it  were  made 
a  religious  duty  for  one  man  to  turn  an  idle,  contemplative 
hermit,  it  would  be  equally  the  duty  of  every  other ;  and 
then  the  arts  of  life  by  which  we  subsist  would  be  forsaken. 
Any  of  the  prevalent  superstitions,  if  we  may  call  them 
religious,  were  better  than  this.  " 

"  I  agree  with  you  entirely, "  said  Julia ;  "  but  my  ac 
quaintance  with  the  Christian  writings  is  not  such  as  to 
enable  me  to  say  with  confidence  that  they  contain  no  such 
permission  or  injunction.  Indeed,  some  of  them  I  have 
not  even  read,  and  much  I  do  not  fully  understand.  But  as 
I  have  seen  and  read  enough  to  believe  firmly  that  Chris 
tianity  is  a  divine  religion,  my  reason  teaches  me  that  it 
contains  no  precept  such  as  we  speak  of. " 


THE  HERMIT.  141 

We  had  now,  in  the  course  of  our  walk,  reached  what  we 
found  to  be  a  broad  and  level  ledge,  about  half  way  to  the 
summit  of  the  hill.  It  was  a  spot  remarkable  for  a  sort  of 
dark  and  solemn  beauty,  being  set  with  huge  branching 
trees,  whose  tops  were  woven  into  a  roof,  through  which 
only  here  and  there  the  rays  of  the  fierce  sun  could  find 
their  way.  The  turf  beneath,  unencumbered  with  any 
smaller  growth  of  tree  or  shrub,  was  sprinkled  with  flowers 
that  love  the  shade.  The  upper  limit  of  this  level  space 
was  bounded  by  precipitous  rocks,  up  which  ascent  seemed 
impossible,  and  the  lower  by  similar  ones,  to  descend  which 
seemed  equally  difficult  or  impossible. 

"  If  the  abode  of  the  Christian  is  hereabouts, "  we  said, 
"  it  seems  well  chosen,  both  for  its  security  and  the  exceed 
ing  beauty  of  the  various  objects  which  greet  the  eye. " 

"  Soon  as  we  shall  have  passed  that  tumbling  rivulet, " 
said  Julia,  "  it  will  come  into  view.  " 

Upon  a  rude  bridge  of  fallen  trunks  of  trees,  we  passed  the 
stream  as  it  crossed  our  path,  and  which  then,  shooting 
over  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  was  lost  among  the  rocks 
and  woods  below.  A  cloud  of  light  spray  fell  upon  us  as 
we  stood  upon  the  bridge,  and  imparted  a  most  refreshing 
coolness. 

"  Where  you  see, "  said  Julia,  *  that  dark  entrance,  be 
neath  yonder  low -browed  rock,  is  the  dwelling  of  the  aged 
Christian. " 

We  moved  on  with  slow  and  silent  steps,  our  spirits  par 
taking  of  the  stillness  and  solitariness  of  the  place.  We 
reached  the  front  of  the  grotto  without  disturbing  the 
meditations  of  the  venerable  man.  A  part  of  the  rock 
which  formed  his  dwelling  served  him  for  a  seat,  and  an 
other  part  projecting  after  the  manner  of  a  shelf,  served 
him  for  a  table,  upon  which  lay  spread  open  a  large  volume. 
Bending  over  the  book,  his  lean  and  shrivelled  finger  point 
ing  to  the  words,  and  aiding  his  now  dim  and  feeble  eye, 
he  seemed  wholly  wrapped  in  the  truths  he  was  contem 
plating,  and  heeded  not  our  presence.  We  stood  still  for 
a  moment,  unwilling  to  break  a  repose  so  peaceful  and  pro- 


142  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

found.  At  length,  raising  his  eyes  from  the  page,  they 
caught  the  form  and  face  of  the  princess,  who  stood  nearest 
to  him.  A  quick  and  benignant  smile  lighted  up  his  fea 
tures;  and  rising  slowly  to  his  full  height,  he  bade  her 
welcome,  with  sweet  and  tremulous  tones,  to  his  humble 
roof. 

"  It  is  kind  in  you, "  said  he,  "  so  soon  again  to  ascend 
these  rough  solitudes,  to  visit  a  now  unprofitable  old  man. 
And  more  kind  still  to  bring  others  with  you.  Voices  from 
the  world  ring  a  sweet  music  in  my  ear,  —  sweeter  than  any 
sound  of  bird  or  stream.  Enter,  friends,  if  it  please  you, 
and  be  rested,  after  the  toil  of  your  ascent.  "  , 

"  I  bring  you  here,  Father, "  said  Julia,  "  according  to  my 
sometime  promise,  my  friend  and  companion,  the  daughter 
of  Gracchus,  and  with  her  a  noble  Roman  of  the  house  of 
Piso,  lately  come  hither  from  the  capital  of  the  world. " 

"  They  are  very,  very  welcome, "  replied  the  saint ;  "  your 
presence  breaks  most  gratefully  the  monotony  of  my  life.  " 

"  We  almost  doubted, "  said  I,  "  venerable  Father, 
"  whether  it  would  please  you  to  find  beneath  your  roof 
those  who  receive  not  your  belief,  and,  what  is  much  more, 
belonged  to  a  faith  which  has  poured  upon  you  and  yours  so 
full  a  flood  of  suffering  and  reproach.  But  your  counte 
nance  assures  us  that  we  have  erred. " 

"  You  have,  indeed, "  replied  the  sage ;  "  as  a  Christian, 
I  see  in  you  not  pagans  and  unbelievers,  not  followers  of 
Plato  and  Epicurus,  not  dwellers  in  Rome  or  in  Alexandria, 
but  members  of  the  great  family  of  man,  and  as  such  I 
greet  you,  and  already  love  you.  The  design  of  Chris 
tianity  is  to  unite  and  draw  together,  not  to  divide  and 
drive  asunder.  It  teaches  its  disciples,  indeed,  to  go  out 
and  convert  the  world;  but  if  they  cannot  convert  it,  it 
still  teaches  them  to  love  it.  My  days  and  my  strength 
have  been  spent  in  preaching  Christ  to  Jews  and  heathen ; 
and  many  of  those  who  have  heard  have  believed.  But 
more  have  not.  These  are  not  my  brethren  in  Christ,  but 
they  are  my  brethren  in  God,  and  I  love  them  as  his. " 

"  These  are  noble  sentiments, "  said  Fausta.     "  Religion 


THE   HERMIT.  143 

has,  in  almost  all  its  forms,  condemned  utterly  all  who 
have  not  received  it  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  been  pro 
posed.  Rome  used  to  be  mild  and  tolerant  of  every  form 
which  the  religious  sentiment  assumed.  But  since  the 
appearance  of  Christianity  it  has  wholly  changed  its  policy. 
I  am  afraid  it  formerly  tolerated,  only  because  it  saw  noth 
ing  to  fear.  Fearing  Christianity,  it  seeks  to  destroy  it. 
That  is  scarcely  generous  of  you,  Lucius ;  nor  very  wise 
either, — for  surely  truth  can  neither  be  created  nor  sup 
pressed  by  applications  of  force.  Such  is  not  the  doctrine 
of  Christianity,  if  I  understand  you  right.  " 

"  Lady,  most  certainly  not, "  he  replied.  "  Christianity 
is  offered  to  mankind,  not  forced  upon  them.  And  this 
supposes  in  them  the  power  and  the  right  to  sit  in  judg 
ment  upon  its  truth.  But  were  not  all  free  judgment  de 
stroyed,  and  all  worthy  reception  of  it,  therefore,  if  any 
penal  consequences  —  greater  or  less,  of  one  kind  or  an 
other,  present  or  future  —  followed  upon  its  rejection  ? 
Eome  has  done  wickedly,  in  her  aim  to  suppress  error 
and  maintain  truth  by  force.  Is  Rome  a  god,  to  distin 
guish  with  certainty  the  one  from  the  other  ?  But,  alas ! 
Rome  is  not  alone  to  blame  in  this.  Christians  themselves 
are  guilty  of  the  same  folly  and  crime.  They  interpret 
differently  the  sayings  of  Christ,  —  as  how  should  they  not  ? 
—  and  the  party  which  is  stronger  in  numbers  already  be 
gins  to  oppress,  wifh  hard  usage  and  language,  the  weaker 
party,  which  presumes  to  entertain  its  own  opinions.  The 
Christians  of  Alexandria  and  Rome,  fond  of  the  ancient 
philosophy,  and  desirous  to  recommend  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  by  showing  their  near  accordance  with  it,  have,  as 
many  think,  greatly  adulterated  the  gospel  by  mixing  up 
with  its  truths  the  fantastic  dreams  of  Plato.  Others, 
among  whom  is  our  Paul  of  Antioch,  deeming  this  inju 
rious  and  erroneous,  aim  to  restore  the  Christian  doctrine 
to  the  simplicity  that  belongs  to  it  in  the  original  records, 
and  which,  for  the  most  part,  it  still  retains  among  the 
common  people.  But  this  is  not  willingly  allowed.  On 
the  contrary,  because  Paul  cannot  see  with  their  eyes,  and 


144  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYKA. 

judge  with  their  judgment,  he  is  to  be  driven  from  his 
bishopric.  Thus  do  the  Christians  imitate  in  their  treat 
ment  of  each  other  their  common  enemy,  the  Eoman.  They 
seem  already  ashamed  of  the  gentleness  of  Christ,  who  would 
have  every  mind  left  in  its  own  freedom  to  believe  as  its 
own  powers  enable  it  to  believe.  Our  good  Zenobia,  though 
no  Christian,  is  yet  in  this  respect  the  truest  Christian. 
Throughout  her  realm,  thought  is  free  as  the  air  that  plays 
among  these  leaves. " 

"  But  is  it  not, "  said  Fausta,  "  a  mark  of  imperfection  in 
your  religion,  that  it  cannot  control  and  bind  to  a  perfect 
life  its  disciples  ?  Methinks  a  divine  religion  should  mani 
fest  its  divinity  in  the  superior  goodness  which  it  forms. " 

"  Is  not  that  just  ?  "  I  added. 

"  A  divine  religion, "  he  replied,  "  may  indeed  be  expected 
to  show  its  heaven -derived  power  in  creating  a  higher  vir 
tue  than  human  systems.  And  this,  I  am  sure,  Chris 
tianity  does.  I  may  safely  challenge  the  world  to  show, 
in  human  form,  the  perfection  which  dwelt  in  Jesus,  the 
founder  of  this  religion.  Yet  his  character  was  formed  by 
the  power  of  his  own  doctrines.  Among  his  followers,  if 
there  have  been  none  so  perfect  as  he,  there  have  been  mul 
titudes  who  have  approached  him,  and  have  exhibited  a 
virtue  which  was  once  thought  to  belong  only  to  philoso 
phers.  The  world  has  been  accustomed  to  celebrate,  with 
almost  divine  honours,  Socrates,  and  chiefly  because  of  the 
greatness  of  mind  displayed  by  him  when  condemned  to 
drink  the  cup  of  poison.  I  can  tell  you  of  thousands  among 
the  Christians,  among  common  and  unlearned  Christians, 
who  have  met  death,  in  forms  many  times  more  horrible 
than  that  in  which  the  Greek  encountered  it,  with  equal 
calmness  and  serenity.  This  they  have  been  enabled  to  do 
simply  through  the  divine  force  of  a  few  great  truths,  which 
they  have  implicitly  believed.  Besides  this,  consider  the 
many  usages  of  the  world  which,  while  others  hold  them 
innocent,  the  Christians  condemn  them,  and  abstain  from 
them.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  they  are  the  reformers  of 
the  age.  They  are  busy  sometimes  with  an  indiscreet  and 


THE  HERMIT.  145 

violent  zeal,  in  new-modelling  both  the  opinions  and  prac 
tices  of  the  world.  But  what  then  ?  Are  they  to  be  con 
demned  if  a  single  fault  may  be  charged  upon  them  ?  Must 
they  be  perfect,  because  their  religion  is  divine?  This 
might  be  so,  if  it  were  of  the  nature  of  religion  to  operate 
with  an  irresistible  influence  upon  the  mind,  producing  an 
involuntary  and  forced  obedience.  But  in  such  an  obe 
dience  there  would  be  nothing  like  what  we  mean  by  virtue, 
but  something  quite  inferior  in  the  comparison.  A  reli 
gion,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  divine,  will,  with  the  more 
certainty,  make  its  appeals  to  a  free  nature.  It  will  ex 
plain  the  nature,  and  reveal  the  consequences  of  virtue  and 
vice,  but  will  leave  the  mind  free  to  choose  the  one  or  the 
other.  Christianity  teaches  that  in  goodness  and  faithful 
ness  to  the  sense  of  duty  lies  the  chief  good ;  in  these  there 
is  a  heaven  of  reward,  not  only  now  and  on  earth,  but 
throughout  an  existence  truly  immortal.  Is  it  not  most 
evident  that  with  whatever  authority  this  religion  may 
propound  its  doctrines,  men  not  being  in  a  single  power 
coerced,  will  not,  though  they  may  receive  them,  yield  to 
them  an  equal  observance  ?  Hence  even  among  Christians 
there  must  be,  perhaps  ever,  much  imperfection. " 

"  Does  not  this  appear  to  you,  Fausta  and  Piso, "  said 
Julia,  as  the  old  man  paused,  "  just  and  reasonable  ?  Can 
it  be  an  objection  to  this  faith  that  its  disciples  partake  of 
the  common  weaknesses  of  humanity  ?  Otherwise,  reli 
gion  would  be  a  principle  designed,  not  so  much  to  im 
prove  and  exalt  our  nature,  as  to  alter  it.  " 

"  We  allow  it  readily  to  be  both  just  and  reasonable. " 

"  But  it  seemed  to  us, "  said  Fausta,  "  as  we  ascended  the 
mountain,  and  were  conversing,  to  be  with  certainty  a  proof 
of  imperfection  in  your  religion  —  pardon  my  freedom,  we 
are  come  as  learners,  and  they  who  would  learn  must,  with 
out  restraint,  express  their  doubts  —  that  it  recommended 
or  permitted  a  recluse  and  inactive  life.  Have  your  days, 
Father,  been  passed  in  this  deep  solitude  ?  And  has  your 
religion  demanded  it  ?" 

"  Your  freedom  pleases  me, "  replied  the  venerable  man, 

10 


146  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

*  and  I  wonder  not  at  the  question  you  propose.  Not  my 
religion,  lady,  but  an  enfeebled  and  decrepit  frame,  chains 
me  to  this  solitude.  I  have  now  out-lasted  a  century,  and 
my  powers  are  wasted  and  gone.  I  can  do  little  more  than 
sit  and  ponder  the  truths  of  this  life-giving  book,  and  an 
ticipate  the  renewed  activity  of  that  immortal  being  which 
it  promises.  The  Christian  converts  who  dwell  beneath 
those  roofs  which  you  see  gleaming  in  the  valley  below, 
supply  the  few  wants  which  I  have.  When  their  labour 
is  done  for  the  day,  they  sometimes  come  up,  bringing  with 
them  baskets  of  fresh  or  dried  fruits,  which  serve  me,  to 
gether  with  the  few  roots  and  berries  which  I  myself  can 
gather  as  I  walk  this  level  space,  for  my  food.  My  thirst 
I  quench  at  the  brook  which  you  have  just  passed.  Upon 
this  simple  but  wholesome  nutriment,  and  breathing  this 
dry  mountain  air,  my  days  may  yet  be  prolonged  through 
many  years.  But  I  do  not  covet  them,  since  nature  makes 
me  a  prisoner.  But  I  submit,  because  my  faith  teaches  me 
to  receive  patiently  whatever  the  Supreme  Ruler  appoints. 
It  is  not  my  religion  that  prescribes  this  manner  of  life,  or 
permits  it,  but  as  the  last  refuge  of  an  imbecility  like  mine. 
Christianity  denounces  selfishness  in  all  its  forms,  and  what 
form  of  selfishness  more  gross  than  to  spend  the  best  of  one's 
days  in  solitary  musing  and  prayer,  all  to  secure  one's  own 
salvation  ?  The  founder  of  this  religion  led  an  active  and 
laborious  life.  He  did  good  not  only  to  himself  by  prayer 
and  meditation,  he  went  about  doing  it  to  others, —  seeking 
out  objects  whom  he  might  benefit  and  bless.  His  life  was 
one  of  active  benevolence ;  and  the  record  of  that  life  is  the 
religious  code  of  his  followers.  No  condemnation  could  be 
more  severe  than  that  which  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth  would 
pronounce  upon  such  a  life  as  mine  now  is,  were  it  a  chosen, 
voluntary  one.  But  it  never  has  been  voluntary.  Till  age 
dried  up  the  sources  of  my  strength,  I  toiled  night  and  day 
in  all  countries  and  climates,  in  the  face  of  every  danger, 
in  the  service  of  mankind.  For  it  is  by  serving  others  that 
the  law  of  Christ  is  fulfilled.  This  disinterested  labour  for 
others  constituted  the  greatness  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  con- 


THE  HERMIT.  147 

stitutes  true  greatness  in  his  followers.  I  perceive  that 
what  I  say  falls  upon  your  ear  as  a  new  and  strange  doc 
trine.  But  it  is  the  doctrine  of  Christianity.  It  utterly 
condemns,  therefore,  a  life  of  solitary  devotion.  It  is  a 
mischievous  influence  which  is  now  spreading  outward, 
from  the  example  of  that  Paul  who  suffered  so  much  under 
the  persecution  of  the  Emperor  Decius,  and  who  then  fly 
ing  to  the  solitudes  of  the  Egyptian  Thebais  has  there,  in 
the  vigour  of  his  days,  buried  himself  in  a  cave  of  the  earth, 
that  he  may  serve  God  by  forsaking  men.  His  maxim 
seems  to  be,  '  The  farther  from  man,  the  nearer  to  God, '  — 
the  reverse  of  the  Christian  maxim,  '  The  nearer  man,  the 
nearer  God. '  A  disciple  of  Jesus  has  truly  said,  '  He  who 
loves  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  shall  he  love 
God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ? '  This,  it  may  be,  Eoman,  is 
the  first  sentence  you  have  ever  heard  from  the  Christian 
books. " 

"  I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  it  is, "  I  replied.  "  I  have 
heretofore  lived  in  an  easy  indifference  toward  all  religions. 
The  popular  religion  of  my  country  I  early  learned  to  de 
spise.  I  have  perused  the  philosophers,  and  examined  their 
systems,  from  Pythagoras  to  Seneca,  and  am  now,  what  I 
have  long  been,  a  disciple  of  none  but  Pyrrho.  My  re 
searches  have  taught  me  only  how  the  more  ingeniously  to 
doubt.  Wearied  at  length  with  a  vain  inquiry  after  truth 
that  should  satisfy  and  fill  me,  I  suddenly  abandoned  the 
pursuit  with  the  resolve  never  to  resume  it.  I  was  not 
even  tempted  to  depart  from  this  resolution  when  Chris 
tianity  offered  itself  to  my  notice ;  for  I  confounded  it  with 
Judaism,  and  for  that,  as  a  Eoman,  I  entertained  too  pro 
found  a  contempt  to  bestow  upon  it  a  single  thought.  I 
must  acknowledge  that  the  reports  which  I  heard,  and 
which  I  sometimes  read,  of  the  marvellous  constancy  and 
serenity  of  the  Christians,  under  accumulated  sufferings 
and  wrongs,  interested  my  feelings  in  their  behalf;  and 
the  thought  often  arose,  '  Must  there  not  be  truth  to  sup 
port  such  heroism  ? '  But  the  world  went  on  its  way,  and 
I  with  it,  and  the  Christians  were  forgotten.  To  a  Chris- 


148  ZEXOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

tian,  on  my  voyage  across  the  Mediterranean,  I  owe  much 
for  my  first  knowledge  of  Christianity.  To  the  Princess 
Julia  I  owe  a  larger  debt  still.  And  now,  from  your  lips, 
long  accustomed  to  declare  its  truths,  I  have  heard  what 
makes  me  truly  desirous  to  hear  the  whole  of  that  which, 
in  the  little  glimpses  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  has 
afforded  so  real  a  satisfaction.  " 

"  If  you  studied  the  Christian  books, "  said  the  recluse, 
"  you  would  be  chiefly  struck,  perhaps,  with  the  plainness 
and  simplicity  of  the  doctrines  there  unfolded.  You  would 
say  that  much  which  you  found  there,  relating  to  the  right 
conduct  of  life,  you  had  already  found  scattered  through  the 
books  of  the  Greek  and  Koman  moralists.  You  would  be 
startled  by  no  strange  or  appalling  truth.  You  would  turn 
over  their  leaves  in  vain  in  search  of  such  dark  and  puz 
zling  ingenuities  as  try  the  wits  of  those  who  resort  to  the 
pages  of  Timaeus.  A  child  can  understand  the  essential 
truths  of  Christ.  And  the  value  of  Christianity  consists 
not  in  this,  that  it  puts  forth  a  new,  ingenious,  and  intri 
cate  system  of  philosophy,  but  that  it  adds  to  recognized 
and  familiar  truths  divine  authority.  Some  things  are,  in 
deed,  new ;  and  much  is  new,  if  that  may  be  called  so,  which, 
having  been  neglected  as  insignificant  by  other  teachers,  has 
by  Christ  been  singled  out  and  announced  as  primal  and 
essential.  But  the  peculiarity  of  Christianity  lies  in  this, 
that  its  voice,  whether  heard  in  republishing  an  old  and 
familiar  doctrine,  or  announcing  a  new  one,  is  not  the  voice 
of  man,  but  of  God.  It  is  a  revelation.  It  is  a  word  from 
the  invisible,  unapproachable  Spirit  of  the  universe.  For 
this,  Socrates  would  have  been  willing  to  renounce  all  his 
wisdom.  Is  it  not  this  which  we  need  ?  We  can  theorize 
and  conjecture  without  end,  but  cannot  relieve  ourselves  of 
our  doubts.  They  will  assail  every  work  of  man.  We 
wish  to  repose  in  a  divine  assurance.  This  we  have  in 
Christianity.  It  is  a  message  from  God.  It  puts  an  end 
to  doubt  and  conjecture.  Wise  men  of  all  ages  have  agreed 
in  the  belief  of  one  God  ;  but,  not  being  able  to  demonstrate 
his  being  and  his  unity,  they  have  had  no  power  to  change 


THE  HERMIT.  149 

the  popular  belief,  which  has  ever  tended  to  polytheism  and 
idolatry.  Christianity  teaches  this  truth  with  the  authority 
of  God  himself,  and  already  has  it  become  the  faith  of  mil 
lions.  Philosophers  have  long  ago  taught  that  the  only  safe 
and  happy  life  is  a  virtuous  life.  Christianity  repeats  this 
great  truth,  and  adds,  that  it  is  such  a  life  alone  that  con 
ducts  to  immortality.  Philosophers  have  themselves  be 
lieved  in  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  and  have  died  hoping 
to  live  again ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  mankind  gen 
erally  have  entertained  an  obscure  expectation  of  a  renewed 
existence  after  death.  The  advantage  of  Christianity  con 
sists  in  this,  that  it  assures  us  of  the  reality  of  a  future 
existence,  on  the  word  and  authority  of  God  himself.  Jesus 
Christ  taught  that  all  men  come  forth  from  death  wearing 
a  new  spiritual  body,  and  thereafter  never  die;  and  to 
confirm  his  teaching,  he  himself,  being  slain,  rose  from  the 
dead,  and  showed  himself  to  his  followers  alive,  and  while 
they  were  yet  looking  upon  him,  ascended  to  some  other  and 
higher  world.  Surely,  Eoman,  though  Christianity  an 
nounced  nothing  more  than  these  great  truths,  yet  seeing  it 
puts  them  forth  in  the  name  and  with  the  authority  of  God, 
it  is  a  vast  accession  to  our  knowledge.  " 

"  Indeed,  it  cannot  be  denied, "  I  answered.  "  It  would 
be  a  great  happiness,  too,  to  feel  such  an  assurance,  as  he 
must  who  believes  in  your  religion,  of  another  life.  Death 
would  then  lose  every  terror.  We  could  approach  the  close 
of  life  as  calmly  and  cheerfully,  sometimes  as  gladly,  as  we 
now  do  the  close  of  a  day  of  weary  travel  or  toil.  It  would 
be  but  to  lie  down  and  rest  and  sleep  and  rise  again,  re 
freshed  by  the  slumber  for  the  labours  and  enjoyments  of  a 
life  which  should  then  be  without  termination,  and  yet  unat 
tended  by  fatigue.  I  can  think  of  no  greater  felicity  than 
to  be  able  to  perceive  the  truth  of  such  a  religion  as  yours.  " 

"  This  religion  of  the  Christians, "  said  Fausta,  "  seems  to 
be  full  of  reasonable  and  desirable  truth, —  if  it  all  be  truth. 
But  how  is  this  great  point  to  be  determined  ?  How  are  we 
to  know  whether  the  founder  of  this  religion  was  in  truth 
a  person  holding  communication  with  God  ?  The  mind  will 


150  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

necessarily  demand  a  large  amount  of  evidence  before  it 
can  believe  so  extraordinary  a  thing.  I  greatly  fear,  Julia, 
lest  I  may  never  be  a  Christian.  What  is  the  evidence, 
Father,  with  which  you  trust  to  convince  the  mind  of  an 
inquirer  ?  It  must  possess  potency,  for  all  the  world  seems 
flocking  to  the  standard  of  Christ. " 

"  I  think,  indeed, "  replied  the  saint,  "  that  it  possesses 
potency.  I  believe  its  power  to  be  irresistible.  But  do 
you  ask  in  sincerity,  daughter  of  Gracchus,  what  to  do  in 
order  to  believe  in  Christianity  ?  " 

"  I  do,  indeed,  *  answered  Fausta ;  "  but  know  that  my 
mind  is  one  not  easy  of  belief. " 

"  Christianity  asks  no  forced  or  faint  assent.  It  appeals 
to  human  reason,  and  it  blames  not  the  conscientious 
doubter  or  denier.  When  it  requires  you  to  examine,  and 
constitutes  you  judge,  it  condemns  no  honest  decision. 
The  mind  that  approaches  Christianity  must  be  free,  and 
ought  to  be  fearless.  Hesitate  not  to  reject  that  which 
evidence  does  not  substantiate.  But  examine  and  weigh 
well  the  testimony.  If  then  you  would  know  whether 
Christianity  be  true,  it  is  first  of  all  needful  that  you  read 
and  ponder  the  Christian  books.  These  books  prove  them 
selves.  The  religion  of  Christ  is  felt  to  be  true  as  you  read 
the  writings  in  which  it  is  recorded.  Just  as  the  works  of 
nature  prove  to  the  contemplative  mind  the  being  of  a  God, 
so  do  the  books  of  the  Christian  prove  the  truth  of  their 
religion.  As  you  read  them,  as  your  mind  embraces  the 
teaching,  and,  above  all,  the  character  of  Christ,  you  in 
voluntarily  exclaim,  'This  must  be  true;  the  sun  in  the 
heavens  does  not  more  clearly  point  to  a  divine  Author 
than  do  the  contents  of  these  books. '  You  find  them 
utterly  unlike  any  other  books, —  differing  from  them  just 
in  the  same  infinite  and  essential  way  that  the  works  of 
God  differ  from  the  works  of  man. " 

He  paused,  and  we  were  for  a  few  moments  silent.  At 
length  Fausta  said,  "  This  is  all  very  new  and  strange, 
Father!  Why,  Julia,  have  you  never  urged  me  to  read 
these  books  ? " 


THE  HERMIT.  151 

"  The  princess, "  resumed  the  hermit,  "  has  done  wisely 
to  leave  you  to  the  promptings  of  your  own  mind.  The 
more  everything  in  religion  is  voluntary  and.  free,  the  more 
worth  attaches  to  it.  Christ  would  not  that  any  should  be 
driven  or  urged  to  him,  but  that  they  should  come.  Never 
theless,  the  way  must  be  pointed  out.  I  have  now  shown 
you  one  way.  Let  me  tell  you  of  another.  The  Christian 
books  bear  the  names  of  the  persons  who  profess  to  have 
written  them,  and  who  declare  themselves  to  have  lived 
and  to  have  recorded  events  which  happened  in  the  pro 
vince  of  Judea,  in  the  reigns  of  Tiberius  and  Nero.  Now, 
it  is  by  no  means  a  difficult  matter  for  a  person  desirous  to 
arrive  at  the  truth,  to  institute  such  inquiries  as  shall  fully 
convince  him  that  such  persons  lived  then  and  there,  and 
performed  the  actions  ascribed  to  them.  We  are  not  so  far 
removed  from  those  times,  but  that,  by  resorting  to  the 
places  where  the  events  of  the  Christian  history  took  place, 
we  can  readily  satisfy  ourselves  of  their  truth  —  if  they  be 
true — by  inquiring  of  the  descendants  of  those  who  were 
concerned  in  the  very  transactions  recorded.  This,  thou 
sands  and  thousands  have  done,  and  they  believe  in  the 
events  —  strange  as  they  are  —  of  the  Christian  history  as 
implicitly  as  they  do  in  the  events  of  the  Roman  history 
for  the  same  period  of  time.  Listen,  my  children,  while 
I  rehearse  my  own  experience  as  a  believer  in  Christ. 

"  My  father,  Cyprian,  a  native  of  Syria,  attained,  as  I 
have  attained,  to  an  extreme  old  age.  At  the  age  of  five 
score  years  and  ten  he  died  within  the  walls  of  this  quiet 
dwelling  of  nature's  own  hewing,  and  there,  at  the  roots  of 
that  ancient  cedar,  his  bones  repose.  He  was  for  twenty 
years  a  contemporary  of  Saint  John  the  Evangelist, —  of  that 
John  who  was  one  of  the  companions  of  Jesus  the  founder 
of  Christianity,  and  who,  ere  he  died,  wrote  a  history  of 
Jesus,  and  of  his  acts  and  doctrine.  From  the  very  lips  of 
this  holy  man  did  the  youthful  but  truth-loving  and  truth- 
seeking  Cyprian  receive  his  knowledge  of  Christianity. 
He  sat  and  listened  while  the  aged  apostle  —  the  past  ris 
ing  before  him  with  the  distinctness  of  a  picture  —  told  of 


152  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Jesus;  of  the  mild  majesty  of  his  presence;  of  the  power 
and  sweetness  of  his  discourse ;  of  the  love  he  bore  toward 
all  that  lived ;  of  his  countenance  radiant  with  joy  when, 
in  using  the  miraculous  power  intrusted  to  show  his  de 
scent  from  God,  he  gave  health  to  the  pining  sick,  and 
restored  the  dying  and  the  dead  to  the  arms  of  weeping 
friends.  There  was  no  point  of  the  history  which  the 
apostle  has  recorded  for  the  instruction  of  posterity,  which 
Cyprian  did  not  hear,  with  all  its  minuter  circumstances, 
from  his  own  mouth.  Nay,  he  was  himself  a  witness  of 
the  exercise  of  that  same  power  of  God  which  was  com 
mitted  without  measure  to  Jesus,  on  the  part  of  the  apostle. 
He  stood  by  —  his  spirit  wrapt  and  wonder-struck  —  while 
at  the  name  of  Jesus  the  lame  walked,  the  blind  recovered 
their  sight,  and  the  sick  leaped  from  their  couches.  When 
this  great  apostle  was  fallen  asleep,  my  father,  by  the  coun 
sel  of  Saint  John,  and  that  his  faith  might  yet  farther  be 
confirmed,  travelled  over  all  the  scenes  of  the  Christian 
history.  He  visited  the  towns  and  cities  of  Judea,  where 
Jesus  had  done  his  marvellous  works.  He  conversed  with 
the  children  of  those  who  had  been  subjects  of  the  healing 
power  of  the  Messiah.  He  was  with  those  who  themselves 
had  mingled  among  the  multitudes  who  encompassed  him 
when  Lazarus  was  summoned  from  the  grave,  and  who 
clung  to  the  cross  when  Jesus  was  upon  it  dying,  and  wit 
nessed  the  sudden  darkness,  and  felt  the  quaking  of  the 
earth.  Finding,  wherever  he  turned  his  steps  in  Judea, 
from  Bethlehem  to  Nazareth,  from  the  Jordan  to  the  great 
sea,  the  whole  land  filled  with  those  who,  as  either  friends 
or  enemies,  had  hung  upon  the  steps  of  Jesus,  and  seen  his 
miracles,  what  was  he  to  doubt  whether  such  a  person  as 
Jesus  had  ever  lived,  or  had  ever  done  those  wonderful 
works?  He  doubted  not;  he  believed  even  as  he  would 
have  done  had  he  himself  been  present  as  a  disciple.  In 
addition  to  this,  he  saw,  at  the  places  where  they  were 
kept,  the  evangelic  histories,  in  the  writing  of  those  who 
drew  them  up;  and  at  Rome,  at  Corinth,  at  Philippi,  at 
Ephesus,  he  handled  with  his  own  hands  the  letters  of 


THE  HERMIT.  153 

Paul,  which  he  wrote  to  the  Christians  of  those  places; 
and  in  those  places  and  others  did  he  dwell  and  converse 
with  multitudes  who  had  seen  and  heard  the  great  apostle, 
and  had  witnessed  the  wonders  he  had  wrought.  I,  the 
child  of  Cyprian's  old  age,  heard  from  him  all  that  I  have 
now  recounted  to  you.  I  sat  at  his  feet,  as  he  had  sat  at 
the  evangelist's,  and  from  him  I  heard  the  various  expe 
riences  of  his  long,  laborious,  and  troubled  life.  Could  I 
help  but  believe  what  I  heard, — and  so  could  I  help  but 
be  a  Christian?  My  father  was  a  man  —  and  all  Syria 
knows  him  to  have  been  such  an  one  —  of  a  passionate  love 
of  truth.  At  any  moment  would  he  have  cheerfully  suf 
fered  torture  and  death  sooner  than  have  swerved  from  the 
strictest  allegiance  to  its  very  letter.  Nevertheless,  he 
would  not  that  I  should  trust  to  him  alone;  but,  as  the 
apostle  had  sent  him  forth,  so  he  sent  me  forth  to  read  the 
evidences  of  the  truth  of  this  religion  in  the  living  monu 
ments  of  Judea.  I,  too,  wandered  a  pilgrim  over  the  hills 
and  plains  of  Galilee.  I  sat  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth. 
I  dwelt  in  Capernaum.  I  mused  by  the  shore  of  the  Gali 
lean  lake.  I  haunted  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem,  and  sought 
out  the  places  where  the  Saviour  of  men  had  passed  the  last 
hours  of  his  life.  Night  after  night  I  wept  and  prayed 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Wherever  I  went,  and  among 
whomsoever  I  mingled,  I  found  witnesses  eloquent  and 
loud,  and  without  number,  to  all  the  principal  facts  and 
events  of  our  sacred  history.  Ten  thousand  traditions  of 
the  life  and  acts  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  all  agreeing 
substantially  with  the  written  records,  were  passing  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  and  descending  from  sire  to  son.  The 
whole  land,  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  was  but  one 
vast  monument  to  the  truth  of  Christianity.  And  for  this 
purpose  it  was  resorted  to  by  the  lovers  of  truth  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Did  doubts  arise  in  the  mind  of  a 
dweller  in  Eome  or  Carthage  or  Britain,  concerning  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  the  Christian  story,  he  addressed  let 
ters  to  well-known  inhabitants  of  the  Jewish  cities,  or  he 
visited  them  in  person,  and,  by  a  few  plain  words  from 


154  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

another,  or  by  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes  and  ears,  every 
doubt  was  scattered.  When  I  had  stored  my  mind  with 
knowledge  from  these  original  sources,  I  then  betook  my 
self  to  some  of  the  living  oracles  of  Christian  wisdom,  with 
the  fame  of  whose  learning  and  piety  the  world  was  filled. 
From  the  great  Clement  of  Eome,  from  Dionysius  at  Alex 
andria,  from  Tertullian  at  Carthage,  from  that  wonder  of 
human  genius,  Origen,  in  his  school  at  Csesarea,  I  gathered 
together  what  more  was  needed  to  arm  me  for  the  Christian 
warfare ;  and  I  then  went  forth,  full  of  faith  myself,  to  plant 
its  divine  seeds  in  the  hearts  of  whosoever  would  receive 
them.  In  this  good  work  my  days  have  been  spent.  I  have 
lived  and  taught  but  to  unfold  to  others  the  evidences  which 
have  made  me  a  Christian.  My  children, "  continued  he, 
"  why  should  you  not  receive  my  words  ?  Why  should  I 
desire  to  deceive  you?  I  am  an  old  man,  trembling  upon 
the  borders  of  the  grave.  Can  I  have  any  wish  to  injure 
you  ?  Is  it  conceivable  that,  standing  thus  already  as  it 
were  before  the  bar  of  God,  I  could  pour  false  and  idle  tales 
into  your  ears  ?  But,  if  I  have  spoken  truly,  can  you  refuse 
to  believe  ?  But  I  must  not  urge.  Use  your  freedom.  In 
quire  for  yourselves.  Let  the  leisure  and  the  wealth  which 
are  yours  carry  you  to  read  with  your  own  eyes  that  wide 
spread  volume  which  you  will  find  among  the  mountains 
and  valleys  of  the  Holy  Land.  Princess,  my  strength  is 
spent,  or  there  is  much  more  I  could  gladly  add. " 

"  My  friends, "  said  the  princess,  "  are,  I  am  sure,  grate 
ful  for  what  you  have  said  and  they  have  heard. " 

"  Indeed  we  are, "  said  Fausta,  "  and  heartily  do  we  thank 
you.  One  thing  more  would  I  ask.  What  think  you  of 
the  prospects  of  the  Christian  faith  ?  Are  the  common 
reports  of  its  rapid  ascendency  to  be  heeded  ?  Is  it  mak 
ing  its  way,  as  we  are  told,  even  unto  the  palaces  of  kings  ? 
I  know,  indeed,  what  happens  in  Palmyra ;  but  elsewhere, 
holy  Father?" 

As  Fausta  spoke  these  words,  the  aged  man  seemed 
wrapped  in  thought.  His  venerable  head  sank  upon  his 
breast;  his  beard  swept  the  ground.  At  length,  slowly 


THE  HERMIT.  155 

raising  his  head,  and  with  eyes  lifted  upward,  he  said,  in 
deep  and  solemn  tones :  "  It  cannot,  it  cannot  be  difficult 
to  read  the  future.  It  must  be  so.  I  see  it  as  if  it  were 
already  come.  The  throne  which  is  red  with  blood,  and 
he  who  sits  thereon,  wielding  a  sword  dropping  blood, 
sinks  —  sinks,  and  disappears;  and  one  all  white,  and  he 
who  sits  thereon,  having  upon  his  frontlet  these  words, 
'  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  toward  men, '  rises  and  fills 
its  place.  And  I  hear  a  movement,  as  of  a  multitude 
which  no  man  can  number,  coming  and  worshipping 
around  the  throne.  God  of  the  whole  earth  arise,  visit 
it  with  thy  salvation !  Hasten  the  coming  of  the  univer 
sal  kingdom  of  thy  Son,  when  all  shall  know  thee,  and 
love  to  God,  and  love  to  man,  possess  and  fill  every  soul. " 

As  the  venerable  man  uttered  this  prayer,  Julia  looked 
steadfastly  upon  him,  and  a  beauty  more  than  of  earth 
seemed  to  dwell  upon  her  countenance. 

"  Father, "  said  Fausta,  "  we  are  not  now  fair  judges  of 
truth.  Your  discourse  has  wrought  so  upon  us  that  we 
need  reflection  before  we  can  tell  what  we  ought  to  be 
lieve.  " 

"  That  is  just, "  said  the  saint ;  "  to  determine  right,  we 
must  think,  rather  than  feel.  And  that  your  minds  may 
the  sooner  return  to  the  proper  state,  let  me  set  before  you 
of  such  as  my  dwelling  will  afford. " 

Saying  this  he  moved  from  the  seat  which  till  now  he 
had  retained,  and  closing  the  volume  he  had  been  reading 
laid  it  away  with  care,  saying  as  he  did  so,  "  This,  chil 
dren,  is  the  Christian's  book  ;  not  containing  all  those  writ 
ings  which  we  deem  to  be  of  authority  in  describing  our 
faith,  but  such  as  are  most  needful.  It  is  from  reading 
this,  and  noting  as  you  read  the  inward  marks  of  honesty, 
and  observing  how  easy  it  were,  even  now,  by  visiting  Judea, 
to  convict  its  authors  of  error  and  falsehood,  had  they  been 
guilty  of  either,  that  your  minds  will  be  best  able  to  judge 
of  the  truth  and  worth  of  Christianity. " 

"  At  another  time,  Father, "  said  Fausta,  "  it  would  give 
me  great  delight,  and  equally,  too,  I  am  sure,  our  friend 


156  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

from  Eome,  if  you  would  read  to  us  portions  of  that  vol 
ume,  that  we  may  know  somewhat  of  its  contents  from  your 
lips,  accompanied,  too,  by  such  comments  as  you  might 
deem  useful  to  learners.  It  is  thus  we  have  often  heard 
the  Greek  and  Koman  writers  from  the  mouth  of  Longinus.  " 

*  Whenever, "  he  replied,  "  you  shall  be  willing  to  ascend 
these  steep  and  rugged  paths  in  pursuit  of  truth,  I,  in  my 
turn,  will  stand  prepared  to  teach.  To  behold  such  listen 
ers  before  me  brings  back  the  life  of  former  days. " 

He  then,  with  short  and  interrupted  steps,  busied  him 
self  in  bringing  forth  his  humble  fare.  Bread  and  fruits 
and  olives  formed  our  slight  repast,  together  with  ice-cold 
water,  which  Julia,  seizing  from  his  hand  the  hermit's 
pitcher,  brought  from  a  spring  that  gushed  from  a  neigh 
bouring  rock.  This  being  ended,  and  with  it  much  vari 
ous  and  agreeable  conversation,  in  the  course  of  which  the 
Christian  patriarch  gave  many  striking  anecdotes  of  his  ex 
posed  and  toilsome  life,  we  rose,  and  bidding  farewell,  with 
promises  to  return  again,  betook  ourselves  to  our  horses,  and 
mounting  them,  were  soon  at  the  gates  of  the  palace. 

I  confess  myself  interested  in  the  question  of  Christianity. 
The  old  religions  are  time-worn,  and,  in  effect,  dead.  To 
the  common  people,  when  believed,  they  are  as  often  inju 
rious  as  useful ;  to  others,  they  are  the  objects  of  open,  un 
disguised  contempt.  Yet  religion,  in  some  form,  the  human 
mind  must  have.  We  feel  the  want  of  it,  as  we  do  of  food 
and  drink.  But,  as  in  the  case  of  food  and  drink,  it  must 
be  something  that  we  shall  perceive  to  nourish  and 
strengthen,  not  to  debilitate  and  poison.  In  my  searches 
through  antiquity,  I  have  found  no  system  which  I  could 
rest  in  as  complete  and  satisfying.  They  all  fail  in  many 
vital  points.  They  are  frequently  childish  in  their  requisi 
tions  and  their  principles ;  their  morality  is  faulty ;  their 
spirit  narrow  and  exclusive;  and  more  than  all,  they  are 
without  authority.  The  principles  which  are  to  guide,  con 
trol,  and  exalt  our  nature,  it  seems  to  me,  must  proceed  from 
the  author  of  that  nature.  The  claim  of  Christianity  to  be 
a  religion  provided  for  man  by  the  Creator  of  man,  is  the 


THE  HEKMIT.  157 

feature  in  it  which  draws  me  toward  it.  This  claim  I  shall 
investigate  and  scan  with  all  the  ability  and  learning  I  can 
bring  to  the  work.  But,  whatever  I  or  you  may  think  of  it, 
or  ultimately  determine,  every  eye  must  see  with  what  giant 
steps  it  is  striding  onward,  —  temples,  religions,  supersti 
tions,  and  powers,  crumbling  and  dissolving  at  its  approach. 
Farewell 


158  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTEK  VIII 

TIDINGS   OF  CALPURNIUS. 

THE  RETURN  TO  THE  CITY.  —  THE  LETTER.  —  THB  JOURNEY 
THROUGH  THE  DESERT. — THE  MOTHER  AND  HER  CHILD.  —  THE 
SIMOOM.  —  THE  CITY  OF  SAPOR.  —  CALPURNIUS  FOUND.  —  His 
DECISION.  —  ITS  CAUSE. 

THE  words  of  that  Christian  recluse,  my  Curtius,  still 
ring  in  my  ear.  I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  there  is  a 
strange  power  in  all  that  I  have  heard  from  any  of  that 
sect.  You  remember  how  I  was  struck  by  the  manner,  the 
countenance,  and,  above  all,  by  the  sentiments,  of  Probus, 
the  Christian  whom  I  encountered  on  his  way  to  Carthage. 
A  still  stronger  feeling  possesses  me  when  I  hear  the  same 
things  from  the  lips  of  Julia.  It  seems  as  if  she  herself, 
and  the  religion  she  discourses  of,  must  proceed  from  the 
same  author.  She  is  certainly  a  divine  work.  And  there 
is  such  an  alliance  between  her  and  those  truths,  that  I  am 
ready  almost  to  believe  that,  for  this  reason  alone,  they  must 
have  that  very  divine  origin  which  is  claimed  for  them.  Is 
there  anything  in  our  Eoman  superstitions,  or  philosophy 
even,  that  is  at  all  kindred  to  the  spirit  of  a  perfect  woman, 
—  anything  suited  to  her  nature  ?  Has  it  ever  seemed  as  if 
women  were  in  any  respect  the  care  of  the  gods  ?  In  this, 
Christianity  differs  from  all  former  religions  and  philoso 
phies.  It  is  feminine.  I  do  not  mean  by  that  weak  and 
effeminate.  But  in  its  gentleness,  in  the  suavity  of  its 
tone,  in  the  humanity  of  its  doctrines,  in  the  deep  love  it 
breathes  to  all  of  human  kind,  in  the  high  rank  it  assigns 
to  the  virtues  which  are  peculiarly  those  of  woman,  in  these 
things  and  many  others,  it  is  throughout  for  them  as  well 
as  for  us, —  almost  more  for  them  than  for  us.  In  this  feat- 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  159 

ure  of  it,  so  strange  and  new,  I  see  marks  of  a  wisdom  be 
yond  that  of  any  human  fabricator.  A  human  inventor 
could  scarcely  have  conceived  such  a  system ;  and  could  he 
have  conceived  it,  would  not  have  dared  to  publish  it.  It 
would  have  been,  in  his  judgment,  to  have  wantonly  for 
feited  the  favour  of  the  world.  The  author  of  Christianity, 
with  a  divine  boldness,  makes  his  perfect  man,  in  the  purity 
and  beauty  of  his  character,  the  counterpart  of  a  perfect 
woman.  The  virtues  upon  which  former  teachers  have 
chiefly  dwelt  are  by  him  almost  unnoticed,  and  those  soft  and 
feminine  ones  which  others  seem  to  have  utterly  forgotten, 
he  has  exalted  to  the  highest  place.  So  that,  as  I  before 
said,  Julia  discoursing  to  me  of  Christianity  is  in  herself, 
in  the  exact  accordance  between  her  mind  and  heart  and  that 
faith,  the  strongest  argument  I  have  yet  found  of  its  truth. 
I  do  not  say  that  I  am  a  believer.  I  am  not.  But  I  can 
not  say  what  the  effect  may  be  of  a  few  more  interviews  with 
the  hermit  of  the  mountains,  in  company  with  the  princess. 
His  arguments,  illustrated  by  her  presence,  will  carry  with 
them  not  a  little  force. 

When,  after  our  interview  with  the  Christian,  we  had 
returned  to  the  queen's  villa,  we  easily  persuaded  ourselves 
that  the  heat  of  the  day  was  too  great  for  us  to  set  out,  till 
toward  the  close  of  it,  for  the  city.  So  we  agreed,  in  the 
absence  of  the  queen  and  other  guests,  to  pass  the  day  after 
our  own  manner  and  by  ourselves.  The  princess  proposed 
that  we  should  confine  ourselves  to  the  cool  retreats  near 
the  fountain  of  the  elephant,  made  also  more  agreeable  to 
us  than  any  other  place  by  the  delightful  hours  we  had  sat 
there  listening  to  the  melodious  accents  of  the  great  Longi- 
nus.  To  this  proposal  we  quickly  and  gladly  assented. 
Our  garments  being  then  made  to  correspond  to  the  exces 
sive  heats  of  the  season,  soothed  by  the  noise  of  the  falling 
waters,  and  fanned  by  slaves  who  waved  to  and  fro  huge 
leaves  of  the  palm-tree,  cut  into  graceful  forms,  and  set  in 
gold  or  ivory,  we  resigned  ourselves  to  that  sleepy  but  yet 
delicious  state  which  we  reach  only  a  few  times  in  all  our 
lives,  when  the  senses  are  perfectly  satisfied  and  filled,  and 


160  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

merely  to  live  is  bliss  enough.  But  our  luxurious  ease  was 
slightly  diversified  with  additions  and  changes  noways  un 
welcome.  Ever  and  anon  slaves  entered,  bearing  trays 
laden  with  every  rare  and  curious  confection  which  the  art 
of  the  East  supplies,  but  especially  with  drinks  cooled  by 
snow  brought  from  the  mountains  of  India.  These,  in  the 
most  agreeable  manner,  recruited  our  strength  when  ex 
hausted  by  fits  of  merriment,  or  when  one  had  become  weary 
by  reading  or  reciting  a  story  for  the  amusement  of  the 
others,  and  the  others  as  weary,  or  more  weary,  by  listen 
ing.  It  were  in  vain  to  attempt  to  recall,  for  your  and 
Lucilia's  entertainment,  the  many  pleasant  things  which 
were  both  said  and  done  on  this  day,  never  to  be  forgotten. 
And  besides,  perhaps,  were  they  set  down  in  order,  and 
sent  to  Rome,  the  spicy  flavour  which  gave  life  to  them  here, 
might  all  exhale,  and  leave  them  flat  and  dull.  Suffice  it, 
therefore,  to  say,  that,  in  our  judgment,  many  witty  and 
learned  sayings  were  uttered, —  for  the  learning,  that  must 
rest  upon  our  declaration ;  for  the  wit,  the  slaves  will  bear 
witness  to  it,  as  they  did  then,  by  their  unrestrained  bursts 
of  laughter. 

It  was  with  no  little  reluctance  that,  as  the  last  rays  of 
the  sun  fell  upon  the  highest  jet  of  the  fountain,  we  heard 
the  princess  declare  that  the  latest  hour  had  come,  and  we 
must  fain  prepare  for  the  city.  A  little  time  sufficed  for 
this,  and  we  were  soon  upon  our  horses,  threading  the  de 
files  among  the  hills  or  flying  over  the  plains.  A  few  hours 
brought  us  within  the  gates  of  the  city.  Leaving  Julia  at 
the  palace  of  the  queen,  we  turned  toward  the  house  of 
Gracchus.  Its  noble  front  soon  rose  before  us.  As  we 
passed  into  the  court-yard,  the  first  sound  that  greeted  me 
was  Milo's  blundering  voice:  "  Welcome,  most  noble  Gal- 
lienus ;  welcome  again  to  Palmyra !  " 

"  I  am  not, "  said  I,  "  quite  an  emperor  yet ;  but,  notwith 
standing,  I  am  glad  to  be  in  Palmyra,  more  glad  to  be  at 
the  house  of  Gracchus,  and  glad  most  of  all  to  see  Grac 
chus  himself  at  home,  and  well, " —  the  noble  Roman,  as  I 
shall  call  him,  at  that  moment  issuing  from  a  door  of  the 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  161 

palace,  and  descending  at  a  quick  pace  the  steps,  to  assist 
Fausta  from  her  horse. 

"  We  are  not, "  said  he,  "  long  separated ;  but  to  those 
who  really  love,  the  shortest  separation  is  a  long  one,  and 
the  quickest  return  an  occasion  of  joy.  "  Saying  so,  he  em 
braced  and  kissed  his  beautiful  daughter,  and  grasped  cor 
dially  my  hand. 

"  Come, "  added  he,  "  enter  and  repose.  Your  ride  has 
been  a  sharp  one,  as  your  horses  declare,  and  the  heat  is 
great.  Let  us  to  the  banqueting-hall,  as  the  coolest,  and 
there  sit  and  rest. "  So  we  were  again  soon  within  that 
graceful  apartment  where  I  had  first  sat  and  tasted  the 
hospitalities  of  Palmyra.  The  gods  above  were  still  at  their 
feast,  drinking  or  drunken.  Below,  we  sat  at  the  open 
windows,  and  with  more  temperance,  regaled  ourselves 
with  the  cool  air  that  came  to  us  richly  laden  with  the 
fragrance  of  surrounding  flowers,  and  with  that  social  con 
verse  that  is  more  inspiring  than  Falernian  or  the  soft  Pal- 
myrene.  After  talking  of  other  things,  Gracchus  addressed 
me,  saying :  — 

"  But  is  it  not  now  time,  Lucius,  that  a  letter,  at  least, 
came  from  Isaac  ?  I  have  forborne  to  inquire,  from  time  to 
time,  as  I  would  do  nothing  to  add  to  your  necessary  anxiety. 
It  surely  now,  however,  is  right  to  consider  the  steps  next 
to  be  taken,  if  he  shall  have  failed  in  his  enterprise. " 

"  Isaac  and  Calpurnius, n  I  replied,  "  are  never  absent 
from  my  thoughts ;  and  I  have  already  resolved  —  the  gods 
willing  and  favouring  —  that  when  a  period  of  sufficient 
length  shall  have  elapsed,  and  the  Jew  does  not  appear, 
having  either  perished  on  the  way  or  else  in  the  capital  of 
the  Great  King,  myself  to  start,  as  I  at  first  designed  to 
do,  upon  this  expedition,  and  either  return  with  my  brother, 
or  else  die  also  in  the  endeavour.  Seek  not,  Fausta,  as  I 
perceive  you  are  about  to  do,  to  turn  me  from  my  purpose. 
It  will  be  —  it  ought  to  be  —  in  vain.  I  can  consent  no 
longer  to  live  thus  in  the  very  heart  of  life  while  this  cloud 
of  uncertainty  hangs  over  the  fate  of  one  so  near  to  me. 
Though  I  should  depute  the  service  of  his  rescue  to  a 

11 


162  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

thousand  others,  my  own  inactivity  is  insupportable,  and 
reproaches  me  like  a  crime. " 

"  I  was  not,  as  you  supposed,  Lucius, "  replied  Fausta, 
"  about  to  draw  you  away  from  your  purpose,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  to  declare  my  approbation  of  it.  Were  I  Lucius, 
my  thoughts  would  be,  I  am  sure,  what  yours  now  are ;  and 
to-morrow's  sun  would  light  me  on  the  way  to  Ecbatana. 
Nay,  father,  I  would  not  wait  a  day  longer.  Woman 
though  I  am,  I  am  almost  ready  to  offer  myself  a  com 
panion  of  our  friend  on  this  pious  service. " 

"  I  shall  not, "  said  Gracchus,  "  undertake  to  dissuade  our 
friend  from  what  seems  now  to  be  his  settled  purpose.  Yet 
still,  for  our  sakes,  for  the  sake  of  the  aged  Portia,  and  all 
in  Rome,  I  could  wish  that  —  supposing  Isaac  should  fail  — 
one  more  attempt  might  be  made  in  the  same  way,  ere  so 
much  is  put  at  hazard.  It  needs  no  great  penetration  to  see 
how  highly  prized  by  Persia  must  be  the  possession  of  such 
a  trophy  of  her  prowess  as  the  head  of  the  noble  house  of 
Piso,  with  what  jealousy  his  every  movement  would  be 
watched,  and  what  danger  must  wait  upon  any  attempt  at 
his  deliverance.  Moreover,  while  a  mere  hireling  might,  if 
detected,  have  one  chance  among  a  thousand  of  pardon  and 
escape,  even  that  were  wanting  to  you.  Another  Piso 
would  be  either  another  footstool  of  the  Persian  despot, 
while  life  should  last,  or  else  he  would  swing  upon  a  Per 
sian  gibbet,  and  so  would  perish  the  last  of  a  noble  name. " 

"  I  cannot  deny  that  reason  is  on  your  side, "  I  said,  in 
reply  to  this  strong  case  of  Gracchus,  "  but  feeling  is  on 
mine ;  and  the  contest  is  never  an  equal  one.  Feeling  is, 
perhaps,  the  essence  of  reason,  of  which  no  account  need  or 
can  be  given,  and  ought  to  prevail.  But,  however  this 
may  be,  I  feel  that  I  am  right,  and  so  I  must  act.  " 

*  But  let  us  now  think  of  nothing  else, "  said  Fausta, 
"  than  that,  before  another  day  is  ended,  we  shall  get  in 
telligence  of  Isaac.  Have  you,  Lucius,  inquired,  since 
your  return,  of  Demetrius  ?  " 

"  Milo  is  now  absent  on  that  very  errand, "  I  replied, 
"  and  here  he  is,  giving  no  signs  of  success. " 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS. 

Milo  at  the  same  moment  entered  the  hall,  and  stated 
that  Demetrius  was  himself  absent  from  the  city,  but  was 
every  moment  expected,  and  it  was  known  that  he  had  been 
seeking  anxiously  the  preceding  day  for  me.  While  Milo 
was  yet  speaking,  a  messenger  was  announced,  inquiring  for 
me,  and  before  I  could  reach  the  extremity  of  the  apartment, 
Demetrius  himself  entered  the  room  in  haste,  brandishing 
in  his  hand  a  letter  which  he  knew  well  to  be  from  Isaac. 

"  'T  is  his  own  hand, "  said  he.  "  The  form  of  his  letters 
is  not  to  be  mistaken.  Not  even  the  hand  of  Demetrius 
can  cut  with  more  grace  the  Greek  character.  Observe, 
Eoman,  the  fashion  of  his  touch.  Isaac  would  have  guided 
a  rare  hand  at  the  graving-tool.  But  these  Jews  shun  the 
nicer  arts.  They  are  a  strange  people.  " 

"  Quickly, "  said  I,  interrupting  the  voluble  Greek,  "  as 
you  love  the  gods,  deliver  to  me  the  letter !  By-and-by  we 
will  discourse  of  these  things ;  "  and  seizing  the  epistle,  I 
ran  with  it  to  another  apartment,  first  to  devour  it  myself. 

I  cannot  tell  you,  dear  friends,  with  what  eagerness  I 
drank  in  the  contents  of  the  letter,  and  with  what  ecstasy 
of  joy  I  leaped  and  shouted  at  the  news  it  brought.  In  one 
word,  my  brother  lives,  and  it  is  possible  that  before  this 
epistle  to  you  shall  be  finished  he  himself  will  sit  at  my 
side.  But  to  put  you  in  possession  of  the  whole  case,  I 
shall  transcribe  for  you  the  chief  parts  of  Isaac's  careful 
and  minute  account,  preserving  for  your  amusement  much 
of  what  in  no  way  whatever  relates  to  the  affair  in  hand, 
and  is  useful  only  as  it  will  present  a  sort  of  picture  of  one 
of  this  strange  tribe.  As  soon  as  I  had  filled  myself  with 
its  transporting  contents,  I  hastened  to  the  hall  where  I 
had  left  Fausta  and  Gracchus,  to  whom  —  Demetrius  having 
in  the  meantime  taken  his  departure  —  I  quickly  com 
municated  its  intelligence,  and  received  their  hearty  con 
gratulations,  and  then  read  it  to  them  very  much  as  I  now 
transcribe  it  for  you.  You  will  now  acknowledge  my  ob 
ligations  to  this  kind-hearted  Jew,  and  will  devoutly  bless 
the  gods  for  my  accidental  encounter  with  him  on  board  the 
Mediterranean  trader.  Here  now  is  the  letter  itself. 


164  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


ISAAC,  the  son  of  Isaac  of  Rome,  to  the  Most  Noble  Lucius 
MANLIUS  Piso,  at  Palmyra. 

That  I  am  alive,  Koman,  after  the  perils  of  my  journey, 
and  the  worse  perils  of  this  Pagan  city,  can  be  ascribed  to 
nothing  else  than  the  protecting  arm  of  the  God  of  our 
nation.  It  is  new  evidence  to  me  that  somewhat  is  yet  to 
be  achieved  by  my  ministry  for  the  good  of  my  country. 
That  I  am  here  in  this  remote  and  benighted  region ;  that 
I  should  have  adventured  hither  in  the  service  of  a  Roman 
to  save  one  Roman  life,  when,  were  the  power  mine,  I  would 
cut  off  every  Roman  life,  from  the  babe  at  the  breast  to  the 
silver  head,  and  lay  waste  the  kingdoms  of  the  great  mother 
of  iniquity  with  fire  and  sword, —  is  to  me  a  thing  so  won 
derful  that  I  refer  it  all  to  the  pleasure  of  that  Power  who  or 
ders  events  according  to  a  plan  and  wisdom  impenetrable  by 
us.  Think  not,  Roman,  that  I  have  journeyed  so  far  for  the 
sake  of  thy  two  talents  of  gold, — though  that  is  consider 
able.  And  the  mention  of  this  draws  my  mind  to  a  matter 
overlooked  in  the  stipulations  entered  into  between  thee 
and  me  at  my  dwelling  in  Palmyra.  Singular,  that  so 
weighty  a  part  of  that  transaction  should  have  been  taken 
no  note  of !  Now  I  must  trust  it  wholly  to  thee,  Piso,  and 
feel  that  I  may  safely  do  so.  In  case  of  my  death,  the 
double  of  the  recompense  agreed  upon  was  to  be  paid  in 
accordance  with  directions  left.  But  what  was  to  be  done 
in  case  of  thy  death  ?  Why,  most  thoughtful  Isaac,  most 
prudent  of  men,  for  this  thou  didst  make  no  provision ! 
And  yet  may  not  Piso  die  as  well  as  Isaac  ?  Has  a  Roman 
more  lives  than  a  Jew  ?  Nay,  how  know  I  but  thou  art  now 
dead,  and  no  one  living  to  do  me  justice?  See  to  this,  ex 
cellent  Roman.  Thou  wouldst  not  have  me  go  unrequited 
for  all  this  hazard  and  toil.  Let  thy  heirs  be  bound,  by 
sure  and  legal  instruments,  to  make  good  to  me  all  thou 
hast  bound  thyself  to  pay.  Do  this,  and  thy  gods  and  my 
God  prosper  thee !  Forget  it  not.  Let  it  be  done  as  soon 
as  these  words  are  read  Demetrius  will  show  thee  one 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  165 

who  will  draw  up  a  writing  in  agreement  with  both  the 
Palmyrene  and  Eoman  law.  Unheard-of  heedlessness !  But 
this  I  thought  not  about  till  I  took  my  pen  to  write. 

What  was  I  saying  ?  —  that  I  came  not  for  thy  gold  ;  that 
is,  not  for  that  solely  or  chiefly.  For  what,  and  why,  then  ? 
Because,  as  I  have  hinted,  I  felt  myself  driven  by  an  in 
visible  power  to  this  enterprise.  I  wait  with  patience  to 
know  what  its  issue  is  to  be. 

Now  let  me  inform  thee  of  my  journey  and  my  doings. 
But  first,  in  one  brief  word,  let  me  relieve  thy  impatience 
by  saying,  /  think  thy  brother  is  to  be  rescued.  No  more  of 
this  at  present,  but  all  in  order.  When  I  parted  from  thee 
that  night,  I  had  hardly  formed  my  plan,  though  my  mind, 
quick  in  all  its  workings,  did  suddenly  conceive  one  way 
in  which  it  appeared  possible  for  me  to  compass  the  desired 
object.  Perhaps  you  will  deem  it  a  piece  of  rashness, 
rather  than  of  courage,  so  quickly  to  undertake  your  affair. 
I  should  call  it  so  too,  did  I  not  also  catch  dimly  in  the 
depths  of  the  heavens  the  form  of  the  finger  of  God.  This 
thou  wilt  not  and  canst  not  understand.  It  is  beyond  thee. 
Is  it  not  so  ?  But,  Eoman,  I  trust  the  day  is  to  come  when 
by  my  mouth,  if  not  by  another's,  thou  shalt  hear  enough  to 
understand  that  truth  is  to  be  found  nowhere  but  in  Moses. 
Avoid  Probus.  I  fear  me  he  is  already  in  Palmyra.  There 
is  more  cunning  in  him  than  is  good.  With  that  deep  face 
and  serene  air  he  deceives  many.  All  I  say  is,  shun  him. 
To  be  a  Eoman  unbeliever  is  better  than  to  be  a  Christian 
heretic.  But  to  my  journey. 

The  morning  after  I  parted  from  thee  saw  me  issuing  at 
an  early  hour  from  the  Persian  gate,  and  with  my  single 
Ethiopian  slave,  bearing  toward  the  desert.  I  took  with 
me  but  a  light  bale  of  merchandise,  that  I  might  not  burden 
my  good  dromedary.  Than  mine  there  is  not  a  fleeter  in 
the  whole  East.  One  nearly  as  good,  and  at  a  huge  price, 
did  I  purchase  for  my  slave.  'T  was  too  suddenly  bought 
to  be  cheaply  bought.  But  I  was  not  cozened.  It  proved  a 
rare  animal.  I  think  there  lives  not  the  man  in  Palmyra 
or  Damascus  who  could  blind  Isaac.  I  determined  to  travel 


166  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

at  the  greatest  speed  we  and  our  beasts  could  bear ;  so  we 
avoided,  as  far  as  we  could,  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  rode 
by  night.  The  first  day  being  through  the  peopled  regions 
of  the  queen's  dominions,  and  through  a  cultivated  country, 
we  travelled  at  our  ease;  and  not  unfrequently,  at  such 
places  as  I  saw  promised  well,  did  we  stop,  and  while  our 
good  beasts  regaled  themselves  upon  the  rich  herbage  or 
richer  grain,  trafficked.  In  this  surely  I  erred  not.  For, 
losing  as  I  have  done,  by  this  distant  and  unwonted  route, 
the  trade  of  Ctesiphon,  't  was  just,  was  it  not,  that  to  the 
extent  possible,  without  great  obstruction  thrown  in  the 
way  of  your  affairs,  I  should  repair  the  evil  of  that  loss  ? 
Truth  to  speak,  it  was  only  because  my  eye  foresaw  some 
such  profitings  on  the  way  that  I  made  myself  contented 
with  but  two  gold  talents  of  Jerusalem.  Two  days  were 
passed  thus,  and  on  the  third  we  entered  upon  a  barren 
region,  —  barren  as  where  the  prophet  found  no  food  but 
such  as  birds  from  heaven  brought  him.  But  why  speak 
of  this  to  thee  ?  Oh,  that  thou  wouldst  but  once,  only  once, 
sit  at  the  feet  of  that  man  of  God,  Simeon  Ben  Gorah! 
Solomon  was  not  more  wise.  His  words  are  arrows  with 
two  heads  from  a  golden  bow.  His  leasons  weigh  as  the 
mountains  of  Lebanon.  They  break  and  crush  all  on  whom 
they  fall.  Would,  Eoman,  they  might  some  time  fall  on 
thee  !  The  third  day  we  were  on  this  barren  region,  and  the 
next  fairly  upon  the  desert.  Now  did  we  reap  the  benefit 
of  our  good  beasts.  The  heat  was  like  that  of  the  furnace 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  out  of  which  the  three  children,  Shad- 
rach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  came,  through  the  power 
of  God,  unscorched.  And  moreover,  they  were  soon  put  to 
an  unwonted  and  unlooked-for  burden,  and  in  such  manner 
as  to  thy  wonder  I  shall  relate. 

It  was  a  day,  the  air  of  which  was  like  the  air  of  that 
furnace, — burning,  burning  hot.  Death  was  written  upon 
the  whole  face  of  the  visible  earth.  Where  leaves  had  been, 
there  were  none  now,  or  they  crumbled  into  ashes  as  the 
hand  touched  them.  The  atmosphere,  when  moved  by  the 
wind,  brought  not,  as  it  used  to  do,  a  greater  coolness,  but 


CO 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  167 

a  fiercer  heat.  It  was  full  of  flickering  waves  that  danced 
up  and  down  with  a  quivering  motion,  and  dazzled  and 
blinded  the  eye  that  looked  upon  them.  And  often  the 
sand  was  not  like  that  which,  for  the  most  part,  is  met  with 
on  that  desert  stretching  from  the  Mediterranean  to  Pal 
myra,  and  of  which  thou  hast  had  some  experience  —  heavy 
and  hard  and  seamed  with  cracks  —  but  fine  and  light  and 
raised  into  clouds  by  every  breath  of  wind,  and  driven  into 
the  skin  like  points  of  needles.  When  the  wind,  as  fre 
quently  it  did,  blew  with  violence,  we  could  only  stop  and 
bury  our  faces  in  our  garments,  our  poor  beasts  crying  out 
with  pain.  It  was  on  such  a  day,  having,  because  there 
was  no  place  of  rest,  been  obliged  to  endure  all  the  nooiiday 
heat,  that  when  the  sun  was  at  the  highest,  and  when  we 
looked  eagerly  every  way  for  even  a  dry  and  leafless  bush 
that  we  might  crouch  down  beneath  its  shade,  we  saw  at 
a  distance  before  us  the  tall  trunk  of  a  cedar,  bleached  to 
ivory,  and  twinkling  like  a  pharos  under  the  hot  rays.  We 
slowly  approached  it,  Hadad,  my  Ethiopian,  knowing  it  as 
one  of  the  pillars  of  the  desert. 

"  There  it  has  stood  and  shone  a  thousand  years, "  said  he, 
"  and  but  for  such  marks  who  could  cross  these  seas  of  sand, 
where  your  footmark  is  lost  as  soon  as  made  ?  "  After  a  few 
moment's  pause  he  again  exclaimed,  "  And  by  the  beard  of 
holy  Abraham !  a  living  human  being  sits  at  the  root,  —  or 
else  mayhap  my  eyes  deceive  me,  and  I  see  only  the  twisted 
roots  of  the  tree.  " 

"  'T  is  too  far  for  my  eyes  to  discern  aught  but  the  blasted 
trunk.  No  living  creature  can  dwell  here.  'T  is  the  region 
of  death  only. " 

A  blast  of  the  desert  struck  us  at  the  moment,  and  well 
nigh  buried  us  in  its  rushing  whirlwind  of  sand.  We  stood 
still,  closed  our  eyes,  and  hid  our  faces  in  the  folds  of  our 
garments. 

"  Horrible,  and  out  of  nature !  "  I  cried, —  "  the  sun  blaz 
ing  without  a  cloud  as  big  as  a  locust  to  dim  his  ray,  and 
yet  these  gusts  like  the  raging  of  a  tempest.  The  winds 
surely  rise.  Providence  be  our  guide  out  of  this  valley  of 
fire  and  death !  " 


168  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  There  is  no  providence  here, "  said  the  slave,  "  nor  any 
where  ;  else  why  these  savage  and  dreary  deserts,  which 
must  be  crossed,  and  yet  we  die  in  doing  it.  " 

"  Hold  thy  peace,  blasphemer !  "  I  could  not  but  rejoin, 
"  and  take  heed  lest  thy  impious  tongue  draw  down  a 
whirlwind  of  God  to  the  destruction  of  us  both. " 

"  The  curse  of  Arimanes, "  began  the  irritated  slave  — 
when  suddenly  he  paused,  and  cried  out  in  another  tone ; 
"  Look !  look,  Isaac !  and  see  now  for  thyself ;  I  am  no  Jew, 
if  there  sit  not  a  woman  at  the  root  of  yonder  tree. " 

I  looked,  and  now  that  we  had  drawn  nearer,  and  the 
wind  had  subsided  for  an  instant,  I  plainly  beheld  the  form 
of  a  woman,  bent  over  as  if  in  the  act  of  holding  and 
defending  an  infant.  I  believed  it  a  delusion  of  Satan. 

"  It  is  awful, "  said  I ;  "  but  let  us  hasten ;  if  it  be  a 
reality,  our  coming  must  be  as  the  descent  of  angels. " 

I  pressed  on  my  weary  animal,  and  in  a  few  moments  we 
stood  before  what  seemed  indeed  a  human  being,  of  flesh 
and  bone,  and  what  was  more  wonderful  still,  a  woman. 
Yet  she  stirred  not,  nor  gave  other  sign  of  life. 

"  Is  the  breath  of  life  yet  in  you?"  I  cried  out, — not 
doubting,  however,  whoever  it  was,  death  had  already  re- 
leased  her  from  her  misery, —  and  at  the  same  time  laid  my 
hand  upon  her  shoulder ;  at  which  she  started  and  lifted  up 
her  head,  the  very  ghastliness  of  death  stamped  upon  every 
feature,  shrieked,  "  I  drown  1  I  drown !  Hassan,  save  me !  " 
and  her  head  fell  again  upon  her  knees. 

"  Poor  fool, "  said  I,  "  thou  art  upon  the  sands  of  the 
desert,  and  thou  dreamest;  awake!  awake!  and  here  is 
water  for  thee, — real  water." 

At  which  she  waked  indeed  with  a  convulsive  start,  and 
while  with  one  hand  she  held  fast  her  child, — for  a  child 
was  indeed  laid  away  among  the  folds  of  her  garments, — 
with  the  other  she  madly  grasped  the  small  cup  I  held  out 
to  her,  and  tearing  aside  the  covering  from  the  face  of  the 
child,  she  forced  open  its  mouth,  and  poured  in  some  of  the 
water  we  gave  her,  watching  its  effect.  Soon  as  the  little 
one  gave  signs  of  life,  she  drank  the  remainder  at  a  draught, 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  169 

crying  out,  "  More !  more !  "  Our  water,  of  which  we  had 
as  yet  good  store,  though  hot  as  the  wind  itself,  quickly 
restored  both  mother  and  child. 

"  And  now  tell  me,  miserable  woman,  what  direful  chance 
has  brought  and  left  thee  here  ?  —  but  hasten,  speak 
quickly  as  thou  canst  —  and  dost  thou  look  for  any  one 
to  come  to  thy  relief  ?  " 

"  Eobbers  of  the  desert, "  said  she,  "  have  either  murdered 
or  carried  into  slavery  my  husband,  and  destroyed  and  scat 
tered  the  caravan  of  which  we  made  a  part.  I  am  alone  in 
the  desert ;  and  I  know  of  no  relief  but  such  as  you  can 
give.  Leave  us  not,  if  you  are  men,  to  perish  in  these 
burning  sands. " 

"  Fear  not  that  I  will  leave  you, "  said  I ;  "  what  I  can 
spare  shall  freely  be  thine.  But  time  is  precious,  for  we 
are  yet  but  midway  the  desert,  and  the  signs  of  the  heavens 
forebode  wind  and  whirlwind :  hasten  then,  and  mount  the 
dromedary  of  my  slave,  while  I  upon  mine  bear  —  as 
stronger  than  thou  —  the  child." 

"  Isaac, "  here  muttered  Hadad,  in  an  undertone,  "  art 
thou  mad  ?  Is  thy  reason  wholly  gone  ?  It  is  scarcely  to 
be  hoped  that  we  alone  may  cross  in  safety  what  remains 
of  the  desert,  beset  as  we  are  by  these  sweeping  gusts,  and 
wilt  thou  oppress  our  fainting  beasts  with  this  new  burden  ?  " 

"  Thou  accursed  of  God !  wouldst  thou  leave  these  here  to 
perish  ?  I  believed  not  before  that  out  of  hell  there  could 
be  so  black  a  soul.  Bring  down  thy  dromedary.  One  word 
of  hesitancy,  and  thy  own  carcass  shall  bleach  upon  the 
sands. " 

I  knew  well  who  I  was  dealing  with, —  that  I  was  safe 
from  immediate  violence,  though  not  from  ultimate  revenge. 

Hadad  then  drew  up  his  beast,  which  kneeling  received 
the  woman,  while  I  took  in  my  arms  the  child.  We  then 
set  forward  at  an  increased  pace,  to  reach  before  night,  if 
possible,  the  "  place  of  springs, "  where  a  small  green  spot, 
watered  by  mountains  which  never  fail,  blesses  these  in 
hospitable  plains. 

Not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen  in  all  the  compass  of  the 


170  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

heavens,  yet  the  winds  raged.  The  blueness  of  the  sky 
was  gone,  and  the  whole  inflamed  dome  above  us  was  rather 
of  the  colour  of  molten  brass,  the  sun  being  but  its  bright 
est  and  hottest  part.  At  a  distance  we  saw  clouds  of  sand 
whirled  aloft,  and  driven  fiercely  over  the  boundless  plain, 
any  one  of  which,  it  seemed  to  us,  if  it  should  cross  our 
path,  would  bury  us  under  its  moving  mass.  We  pressed 
on,  trembling  and  silent  through  apprehension.  The  blood 
in  my  veins  seemed  hotter  than  the  sand,  or  the  sun  that 
beat  upon  my  face.  Eoman,  thou  canst  form  no  conception 
of  the  horrors  of  this  day.  But  for  my  faith,  I  should  have 
utterly  failed.  What  couldst  thou  have  done?  —  nay,  or 
the  Christian  Probus  ?  But  I  will  not  taunt  thee.  I  will 
rather  hope.  The  wind  became  more  and  more  violent. 
The  sand  was  driven  before  it  like  chaff.  Sometimes  the 
tempest  immediately  around  us  would  abate,  but  it  only 
served  to  fill  us  with  new  apprehensions,  by  revealing  to  us 
the  tossings  of  this  great  deep  in  the  distance.  At  one  of 
these  moments,  as  I  was  taking  occasion  to  speak  a  word 
of  comfort  to  the  half -dead  mother,  and  cherish  the  little 
one  whom  I  bore,  a  sound  as  of  the  roar  of  ocean  caught 
my  ear,  —  more  awful  than  aught  I  had  yet  heard,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  shriek  and  a  shout  from  Hadad,  "  God  of 
Israel,  save  us !  the  sand !  the  sand  I  n 

I  looked  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  there  in  the 
south  it  looked  —  God,  how  terrible  to  behold !  —  as  if  the 
whole  plain  were  risen  up,  and  were  about  to  fall  upon  us. 

"  'T  is  vain  to  fly !  *  I  screamed  to  Hadad,  who  was  urging 
his  animal  to  its  utmost  speed.  "  Let  us  perish  together. 
Besides,  observe  the  heaviest  and  thickest  of  the  cloud  is  in 
advance  of  us. " 

The  mother  of  the  child  cried  out,  as  Hadad  insanely 
hastened  on,  for  her  offspring,  to  whom  I  answered :  "  Trust 
the  young  Ishmael  to  me ;  fear  me  not ;  cleave  to  the 
dromedary. " 

Hardly  were  the  words  spoken,  when  the  whirlwind 
struck  us.  We  were  dashed  to  the  earth  as  we  had  been 
weeds.  My  senses  were  for  a  time  lost  in  the  confusion 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPTJRNIUS.  171 

and  horror  of  the  scene.  I  only  knew  that  I  had  been  torn 
from  my  dromedary,  borne  along,  and  buried  by  the  sand, 
and  that  the  young  Ishmael  was  still  in  my  arms.  In  the 
first  moment  of  consciousness,  I  found  myself  struggling  to 
free  myself  from  the  sand  which  was  heaped  around  and 
over  me.  In  this,  after  a  time,  I  succeeded,  and  in  restor 
ing  to  animation  the  poor  child,  choked  and  blinded,  yet  — 
wonderful  indeed  —  not  dead.  I  then  looked  around  for 
Hadad  and  the  woman,  but  they  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  I 
shouted  aloud,  but  there  was  no  answer.  The  sand  had  now 
fallen,  the  wind  had  died  away,  and  no  sound  met  my  ear 
but  the  distant  rumbling  of  the  retreating  storm.  Not  far 
from  me  my  own  dromedary  stood,  partly  buried  in  sand, 
and  vainly  endeavouring  to  extricate  himself.  With  my 
aid,  this  was  quickly  effected.  I  was  soon  upon  his  back ; 
but  I  knew  not  which  way  to  turn.  My  dependence  was 
upon  Hadad,  familiar  with  the  route.  The  sun,  however, 
had  declined  sensibly  toward  the  west ;  I  knew  that  my 
general  direction  was  toward  the  east  and  north,  so  that, 
with  some  certainty  as  to  the  true  path,  I  sorrowfully  re 
commenced  my  journey.  Have  I  not  thy  pity,  Eoman? 
Has  a  worse  case  ever  come  to  thy  ear?  I  will  not  distress 
thee  by  reciting  my  sufferings  all  the  way  to  the  "  place  of 
springs, "  which  by  the  next  morning,  plodding  on  wearily 
through  the  night,  I  safely  reached. 

There  one  of  the  first  objects  that  greeted  me  was  Hadad 
and  the  mother  of  my  Ishmael.  I  approached  them  un 
observed,  as  they  sat  on  the  border  of  a  spring  in  the  midst 
of  other  travellers,  some  of  whom,  I  saw,  were  comforting 
the  wailing  Hagar,  and  without  a  word,  dropped  the  young 
child  into  the  lap  of  its  mother.  Who  shall  describe  the 
transports  of  her  joy  ?  'T  was  worth,  Piso,  the  journey  and 
all  its  hazards. 

How  refreshing  it  was  to  lie  here  on  the  cool  soil  beneath 
the  shade  of  the  grateful  palm,  enjoying  every  moment  of 
existence,  and  repairing  the  injuries  the  journey  had  in 
flicted  upon  ourselves  and  our  beasts !  Two  days  we  passed 
in  this  manner.  While  here,  Hadad  related  what  befell 


172  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

him  after  our  separation.  Owing  to  his  urging  on  his 
animal  in  that  mad  way,  at  the  time  I  called  out  to  him, 
instead  of  stopping  or  retreating,  he  was  farther  within  the 
heart  of  the  cloud  than  I,  and  was  more  rudely  handled. 

"  Soon  as  the  blast  fell  upon  us, "  said  he,  "  that  instant 
was  my  reason  gone.  I  knew  nothing  for  I  cannot  tell  how 
long.  But  when  I  came  to  myself,  and  found  that  I  was 
not  in  the  place  of  the  wicked, —  whereat  I  rejoiced  and 
was  amazed, —  I  discovered,  on  looking  around,  that  my 
good  dromedary,  whom  I  could  ill  spare,  was  dead  and 
buried,  and  your  Hagar,  whom  I  could  have  so  well  spared, 
alive  and  weeping  for  her  lost  boy.  I  made  her,  with  diffi 
culty,  comprehend  that  time  was  precious,  and  that  strength 
would  be  impaired  by  weeping  and  wailing.  Knowing  at 
once  in  what  direction  to  travel,  after  searching  in  vain  for 
thee,  we  set  out  upon  a  journey,  which,  on  foot,  beneath 
a  burning  sun  and  without  water,  there  was  small  hope  of 
accomplishing.  I  looked  with  certainty  to  die  in  the  desert. 
But  Oromasdes  was  my  protector.  See,  Isaac,  the  advantage 
of  a  little  of  many  faiths.  We  had  not  travelled  far  among 
the  hillocks,  or  hills  rather,  of  sand  which  we  found  piled 
up  in  our  way,  and  completely  altering  the  face  of  the  plain, 
before,  to  our  amazement  and  our  joy,  we  discovered  a  camel, 
without  rider  or  burden,  coming  toward  us.  I  secured  him 
without  difficulty.  At  a  little  distance  we  soon  saw  an 
other  ;  and  by-and-by  we  found  that  we  were  passing  over 
the  graves  of  a  caravan,  the  whole  or  chief  part  of  which 
had  been  overwhelmed  by  the  storm.  Here  was  a  body 
partly  out  of  the  sand,  there  the  head  or  leg  of  a  dromedary 
or  camel.  Euin  and  death  seemed  to  have  finished  their 
work.  But  it  was  not  quite  so.  For  presently,  on  reach 
ing  the  summit  of  a  wave  of  sand,  we  discerned  a  remnant 
mounted  upon  the  beasts  that  had  been  saved,  making  in 
the  same  direction,  and  probably  to  the  same  point  as  our 
selves.  We  joined  them,  and  partaking  of  their  water,  were 
recruited,  and  so  reached  this  place  alive.  It  is  now  from 
here,  *  he  added,  "  a  safe  and  easy  road  to  Ecbatana.  " 

So  we  found  it.     But  confess,  now,  noble  Piso,  if  in  thy 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  173 

Judgment  it  would  have  been  exorbitant  if  I  had  required 
of  thee  three  talents  of  Jerusalem  instead  of  two?  For 
what  wouldst  thou  cross  that  molten  sea,  and  be  buried 
under  its  fiery  waves  ?  It  is  none  other  than  a  miracle  that 
I  am  here  alive,  in  Ecbatana.  And  for  thee  I  fear  that 
miracle  would  not  have  been  wrought.  Hadst  thou  been 
in  my  place,  the  sands  of  the  desert  were  now  thy  dwelling- 
place.  Yet  have  I  again  to  tempt  those  horrors.  Being 
here,  I  must  return.  The  dromedary  of  my  slave  Hadad 
was  worth  a  hundred  aurelians.  A  better  or  a  fleeter  never 
yet  was  in  the  stables  of  Zenobia.  And  dost  thou  know, 
Koman,  how  curious  the  queen  is  in  horses  and  dromeda 
ries  ?  There  cannot  a  rare  one  of  either  kind  enter  the 
walls  of  Palmyra,  but  he  is  straightway  bought  up  for  the 
service  of  Zenobia.  The  swiftest  in  the  East  are  hers. 
'Twas  my  purpose,  returning,  to  have  drawn  upon  Hadad 's 
beast  the  notice  of  the  queen.  Doubtless,  I  should  have 
sold  it  to  her,  and  two  hundred  aurelians  are  the  very  least 
I  should  have  asked  or  taken  for  her.  To  no  other  than 
Zenobia  would  I  have  parted  with  her  for  less  than  three 
hundred.  But,  alas !  her  bones  are  on  the  desert.  But  why, 
you  •  ask,  should  I  have  so  favoured  Zenobia  ?  It  is  no 
wonder  you  ask.  And  in  answer  I  tell  thee,  perhaps,  a 
secret.  Zenobia  is  a  Jewess !  Eeceive  it  or  not,  as  thou 
wilt  —  she  is  a  Jewess,  and  her  heart  is  tender  toward  our 
tribe.  I  do  not  say,  mark  me,  that  she  is  one  by  descent, 
nor  that  she  is  so  much  as  even  a  proselyte  of  the  Gate,  but 
that  she  believes  in  some  sort  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and 
reads  our  sacred  books.  These  things  I  know  well  from 
those  who  have  been  near  her.  But  who  ever  heard  that 
she  has  been  seen  to  read  the  books  of  the  Christians ! 
Probus  will  not  dare  to  assert  it.  'Tis  not  more  public 
that  Longinus  himself  is  inclined  to  our  faith  —  by  my 
head,  I  doubt  not  that  he  is  more  than  inclined  —  than  't  is 
that  Zenobia  is.  If  our  Messiah  should  first  of  all  gird  on 
the  sword  of  Palmyra,  what  Jew,  whose  sight  is  better  than 
a  mole's,  would  be  surprised  ?  My  father, —  may  his  sleep 
be  sweet!  —  whose  beard  came  lower  than  his  girdle,  and 


174  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

whose  wisdom  was  famous  throughout  the  East,  built  much 
upon  what  he  knew  of  the  queen  and  her  great  minister, 
and  used  to  say,  "  That  another  Barchochab  would  arise  in 
Palmyra,  whom  it  would  require  more  than  another  Hadrian 
to  hinder  in  his  way  to  empire ;  and  that  if  horses  again 
swam  in  blood,  as  once  at  Either,  'twould  be  in  Eoman 
blood. "  Who  am  I,  to  deny  truth  and  likelihood  to  the 
words  of  one  in  whom  dwelt  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  and 
the  meekness  of  Moses,  the  faith  of  Abraham,  the  valour 
of  Gideon,  and  the  patience  of  Job?  I  rather  maintain 
their  truth.  And  in  the  features  of  the  present  time  I  read 
change  and  revolution,  war  and  uproar  and  ruin,  the 
falling  of  kingdoms  that  have  outlasted  centuries.  I  see 
the  queen  of  the  East  at  battle  with  the  emperor  of  Kome, 
and  through  her  victories  deliverance  wrought  out  for  Israel, 
and  the  throne  of  Judah  once  more  erected  within  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem.  Now  dost  thou,  Piso,  understand,  I  suppose, 
not  one  word  of  all  this.  How  shouldst  thou?  But  I 
trust  thou  wilt.  Surely  now  you  will  say,  "  What  is  all 
this  to  the  purpose  ?  "  Not  much  to  any  present  purpose, 
I  confess  freely ;  and  I  should  not  marvel  greatly  if  thou 
wert  to  throw  this  letter  down  and  trample  it  in  the  dust, — 
as  Rome  has  done  by  Judea, — but  that  thou  lookest  to  hear 
of  thy  brother.  Well,  now  I  will  thee  of  him. 

When  we  drew  near  to  the  capital  of  the  Great  King, 
wishing  to  enrage  Hadad,  I  asked,  "  What  mud-walled  vil 
lage  is  it  that  we  see  yonder  over  the  plain  ?  "  Thou  shouldst 
have  seen  the  scowl  of  his  eye  —  answer  he  gave  none.  I 
spit  upon  such  a  city ;  I  cast  out  my  shoe  upon  it !  I  who 
have  dwelt  at  Rome,  Carthage,  Antioch,  and  Palmyra,  may 
be  allowed  to  despise  a  place  like  this.  There  is  but  one 
thing  that  impresses  the  beholder,  and  that  is  the  Palace 
of  Sapor,  and  the  Temple  of  Mithras,  near  it.  These,  truly, 
would  be  noted  even  in  Palmyra.  Not  that  in  the  building 
any  rule  or  order  of  art  is  observed,  but  that  the  congrega 
tion  of  strange  and  fantastic  trickery  —  some  whereof,  it 
cannot  be  gainsaid,  is  of  rare  beauty  —  is  so  vast  that  one 
is  pleased  with  it  as  he  is  with  the  remembrance  of  the 
wonderful  combinations  of  a  dream. 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  175 

Soon  as  we  entered  the  gates  of  the  city,  I  turned  to  the 
woman  we  brought  from  the  desert,  and  who  rode  the  camel 
with  Hadad,  and  said  to  her :  "  First  of  all,  Hagar,  we  take 
thee  to  those  who  are  of  thy  kindred,  or  to  thy  friends,  and 
well  may  they  bless  the  good  providence  of  God  that  they 
see  thee.  'Twas  a  foul  deed  of  thy  husband,  after  the 
manner  of  the  patriarch,  to  leave  thee  and  thy  little  one 
to  perish  on  the  burning  sands  of  the  desert. " 

"  Good  Jew, "  she  replied,  "  my  name  is  not  Hagar,  nor 
did  my  husband  leave  me  willingly.  I  tell  thee  we  were 
set  upon  by  robbers,  and  Hassan,  my  poor  husband,  was 
either  killed,  or  carried  away  none  can  tell  whither.  " 

"  No  matter  —  names  are  of  little  moment.  To  me  thou 
art  Hagar,  and  thy  little  one  here  is  Ishmael,  and  if  thou 
wilt,  Ishmael  shall  be  mine.  I  will  take  him  and  rear  him 
as  mine ;  he  shall  be  rich ;  and  thou  shalt  be  rich,  and 
dwell  where  thou  wilt. "  The  child,  Roman,  had  wound 
itself  all  around  my  heart.  He  was  of  three  years  or  more, 
and,  feature  for  feature,  answered  to  the  youngest  of  my 
own,  long  since  lost,  and  now  in  Abraham's  bosom.  But 
it  was  not  to  be  as  I  wished.  All  the  mother  rushed  into 
the  face  of  the  woman. 

"  Good  Jew, "  she  cried,  "  the  God  of  heaven  will  reward 
thee  for  thy  mercy  shown  to  us ;  but  hadst  thou  saved  my 
life  a  thousand  times,  I  could  not  pay  thee  with  my  child. 
I  am  poor,  and  have  nought  to  give  thee  but  my  thanks. " 

*  I  will  see  thee  again, "  said  I  to  the  widow  of  Hassan, 
as  we  set  her  down  in  the  street  where  her  kinsfolk  dwelt, 
"  if  thou  wilt  allow  me.  Receive  thy  child.  " 

The  child  smiled  as  I  kissed  him,  and  gave  him  again  to 
his  mother.  It  was  the  smile  of  Joseph.  I  could  at  that 
moment  almost  myself  have  become  a  robber  of  the  desert, 
and  taken  what  the  others  had  left. 

We  here  parted,  and  Hadad  and  myself  bent  our  way  to 
the  house  of  Levi,  a  merchant  well  known  to  Hadad,  and 
who,  he  assured  me,  would  gladly  receive  us.  His  shop, 
as  we  entered  it,  seemed  well  stored  with  the  richest  goods, 
but  the  building  of  which  it  made  a  part  promised  not  very 


176  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

ample  lodgings.  But  the  hospitable  welcome  of  the  aged 
Levi  promised  better. 

"  Welcome  every  true  son  of  Israel, "  said  he,  as  we  drew 
near  where,  in  a  remoter  part  of  the  large  apartment,  he  sat 
busy  at  his  books  of  account.  "  Make  yourselves  at  home 
beneath  the  roof  of  Levi.  Follow  me,  and  find  more  private 
quarters. " 

So,  leaving  Hadad  and  the  camels  to  the  care  of  those 
whom  our  host  summoned,  I  followed  him  as  desired  to 
another  part  of  the  dwelling.  It  now  seemed  spacious 
enough.  After  winding  about  among  narrow  and  dark 
passages,  we  at  length  came  to  large  and  well-furnished 
rooms,  apparently  quite  remote  from  the  shop,  and  far 
removed  from  the  street.  Here  we  seated  ourselves,  and  I 
unfolded  to  Levi  the  nature  of  my  business.  He  listened, 
wondered,  smiled,  shook  his  head,  and  made  a  thousand 
contrary  movements  and  signs.  When  I  had  done,  he 
comforted  and  instructed  me  after  this  manner. 

"  Something  like  a  fool's  errand.  Yet  the  pay  is  good; 
that  cannot  be  doubted.  It  had  been  better,  I  think,  for 
thee  to  have  followed  the  trade  of  Palmyra  or  Ctesiphon. 
Yet  perhaps  this  may  turn  out  well.  The  promised  sum  is 
large.  Who  can  tell  ?  'T  is  worth  a  risk.  Yet  if,  in  tak 
ing  the  risk,  one  loses  his  head,  it  were  a  mad  enterprise. 
Verily  I  can  say  nothing,  but  that  time  will  disclose  it, 
and  the  event  prove  it.  A  thing  is  not  seen  all  at  once, 
and  the  eye  cannot  at  once  reach  every  part  of  a  ball.  Wait 
with  patience,  and  God  shall  show  it. " 

I  saw  that  nothing  was  to  be  got  from  this  prophet.  Yet 
perhaps  he  knew  facts.  So  I  asked  him  of  Hormisdas  and 
Sapor,  and  if  he  knew  aught  of  the  Eoman  Piso,  held  a  strict 
prisoner  in  Ecbatana.- 

"  A  prisoner,  say  you  ?  "  he  replied,  beginning  at  the  end 
of  my  question ;  "  how  can  a  Persian  satrap  be  called  a 
prisoner?  He  dwells  in  the  palace  of  Hormisdas,  and, 
when  seen  abroad,  rides  upon  a  horse  whose  harness  is 
jewelled  like  the  prince's,  and  his  dress,  moreover,  is  of 
the  richest  stuffs,  and  altogether  Persian.  'T  is  forgotten 
by  most  that  he  is  any  other  than  a  native  Persian  ?  " 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  177 

"  Is  he  ever  seen  to  ride  alone  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Why  the  question  ?  I  know  not.  Who  should  know 
who  rides  alone,  and  who  in  company  ?  When  I  have 
seen  him,  it  has  always  been  in  the  train  of  others. " 

"  I  thought  as  much.  Doubtless  he  goes  abroad  well 
guarded.  His  companions,  Levi,  I  doubt,  are  little  better 
than  jailers  ? " 

Levi  opened  his  eyes,  but  it  was  to  no  purpose ;  they  can 
see  no  other  thing  clearly,  save  a  Persian  coin. 

I  found,  upon  further  inquiry,  that  it  was  even  as  I  had 
supposed  and  had  heard.  Calpurnius  lives  in  the  palace  of 
Hormisdas,  and  is  his  chosen  companion  and  friend,  but  is 
allowed  by  Sapor  no  liberty  of  movement,  and,  wherever  he 
goes,  is  attended  by  persons  appointed  to  guard  him.  Nor 
have  the  many  years  that  he  has  been  here  caused  this 
vigilance  in  any  degree  to  relax.  All  outward  honour  is 
shown  him,  except  by  the  king,  who,  had  he  not,  in  the 
time  of  Valerian,  passed  his  word  to  the  prince  his  son,  and 
fully  surrendered  Piso  into  his  hands,  would,  it  is  believed, 
even  now  use  him  as  he  did  the  unhappy  emperor.  But 
he  is  safe  in  the  keeping  of  the  prince.  And  the  guard 
abouii  him,  it  is  my  present  suspicion,  is  as  much  to  defend 
him  against  any  sudden  freak  of  the  king  or  his  satellites, 
as  it  is  to  prevent  his  escape.  The  least  that  could  happen 
to  any  Koman  falling  into  Sapor's  power,  would  be  to  be 
flayed  alive.  My  safety  will  lie  in  my  being  known  only  as 
a  Jew,  not  as  a  dweller  in  Kome. 

And  now,  Eoman,  thou  desirest  to  know  in  what  manner 
I  mean  to  accomplish  the  deliverance  of  thy  brother.  It  is 
this.  Commend  the  cunning  of  it.  My  Ethiopian  slave  is 
then  —  I  must  tell  thee  to  thine  amazement  —  no  Ethiopian 
and  no  slave !  He  is  one  of  my  own  tribe  whom  I  have 
many  times  employed  in  difficult  affairs,  and  having  often 
conferred  upon  him  the  most  essential  favours,  have  bound 
him  to  my  will.  Him  I  am  to  leave  in  Ecbatana,  being 
first  cleansed  of  the  deep  dye  with  which  by  my  art  —  and 
what  art  is  it  I  am  not  familiar  with  ?  —  I  have  stained  his 
skin  to  the  darkest  hue  of  the  African,  and  then  in  his  place, 

12 


178  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

and  stained  to  the  same  hue,  am  I  to  take  thy  brother,  and 
so  with  security,  and  in  broad  day,  walk  through  the  gates 
of  Ecbatana.  Is  it  to  be  thought  of  that  I  should  fail  ?  All 
will  rest  with  Calpurnius.  If,  in  the  first  place,  he  shall 
be  willing  to  return,  and  then,  in  the  next  place,  shall 
consent  to  submit  to  this  momentary  and  only  apparent 
degradation,  the  issue  is  as  certain  to  be  happy  as  the 
means  shall  be  tried.  My  head  never  sat  with  a  sense  of 
more  security  upon  my  shoulders  than  now,  while  planning 
and  putting  into  execution  this  Carthaginian  plot. 

It  was  first  of  all  necessary  that  I  should  become  ac 
quainted  with  the  city,  with  the  situation  and  structure  of 
the  palace  of  Hormisdas,  and  become  known  in  the  streets 
as  one  of  those  way-side  merchants  whom  all  abuse,  yet 
whom  all  are  glad  to  trade  with.  So,  with  my  slave  bend 
ing  under  the  burden  of  those  articles  of  use  or  luxury 
which  I  thought  would  be  most  attractive,  we  set  forth  into 
the  midst  of  the  busy  streets,  seeking  a  market  for  our 
commodities.  Several  days  were  passed  in  this  manner, 
returning  each  night  to  lodge  in  the  house  of  the  rich  and 
foolish,  but  hospitable  Levi. 

While  thus  employed,  I  frequently  saw  Calpurnius,  in 
company  with  the  prince  or  other  nobles,  either  riding  in 
state  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  or  else  setting  out  upon 
excursions  of  pleasure  beyond  the  walls.  But  my  chief 
object  was  to  observe  well  the  palace  of  the  prince,  and 
learn  the  particular  part  of  it  inhabited  by  the  Eoman,  and 
how  and  where  it  was  his  custom  to  pass  his  time.  This 
it  was  not  difficult  to  do.  The  palace  of  the  prince  I  found 
to  occupy  a  square  of  the  city  not  far  from  that  of  the  king 
his  father.  It  is  of  vast  extent,  but  of  a  desolate  aspect, 
from  the  fewness  of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  jealousy  with 
which  the  prince  and  all  his  movements  are  watched  by  the 
wicked  and  now  superannuated  Sapor.  Every  day  I  dili 
gently  paced  the  streets  upon  which  it  stands.  I  at  first 
went  without  Hadad,  that  I  might  observe  with  the  more 
leisure.  I  at  length  discovered  the  apartments  used  by 
Calpurnius,  and  learned  that  it  was  his  custom,  when  not 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  179 

absent  from  the  palace  upon  some  enterprise  of  pleasure,  to 
refresh  himself  by  breathing  the  air,  and  pacing  to  and  fro 
upon  a  gallery  of  light  Persian  architecture,  and  which 
bordered  the  palace.  This  gallery  was  not  so  high  above 
the  street  but  what  the  voice  could  easily  reach  those  who 
were  walking  there,  and  that  without  greatly  increasing 
its  natural  tone.  From  pillar  to  pillar  there  ran  along  a 
low  lattice-work  of  fanciful  device,  upon  which  it  was  the 
usage  of  Calpurnius,  and  those  who  were  with  him,  often 
to  lean,  and  idly  watch  the  movements  of  the  passengers 
below.  Here,  I  found,  must  be  my  place  of  audience. 
Here  I  must  draw  his  attention,  and  make  myself  known 
to  him.  For  an  opportunity  to  do  this,  I  saw  at  once  I 
might  be  obliged  to  wait  long,  for  scarce  ever  was  Calpur 
nius  there,  but  Hormisdas,  or  some  one  of  the  nobles,  was 
with  him ;  or  if  he  was  alone,  yet  the  street  was  so  thronged 
that  it  must  be  difficult  to  obtain  a  hearing. 

Having  learned  these  things,  I  then  came  forth,  with 
Hadad  bearing  my  merchandise,  I  myself  going  before  him 
as  owner  and  crier.  Many  times  did  I  pass  and  repass  the 
gallery  of  Calpurnius  to  no  purpose, — he  either  not  being 
there,  or  attended  closely  by  others,  or  wrapped  in  thought 
so  that  my  cries  could  not  arouse  him.  It  was  clear  to  me 
that  I  must  make  some  bold  attempt.  He  was  one  day 
standing  at  the  lattice-work  already  named,  alone,  and 
looking  at  the  passers-by.  Seeing  him  there,  as  I  entered 
the  street,  I  made  directly  toward  the  spot,  crying  in  the 
loudest  tone  my  goods ;  and  notwithstanding  the  numbers 
who  were  on  their  way  along  the  street,  I  addressed  myself 
boldly  to  him,  purposely  mistaking  him  for  Hormisdas. 
"  Prince, "  said  I,  "  buy  a  little,  if  it  please  you,  of  a  poor 
Jew  who  has  lately  traversed  the  desert  to  serve  you.  I 
have  in  these  panniers  wonders  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
There  is  not  a  city  famous  for  its  art  in  any  rare  and  curious 
work,  that  is  not  represented  here.  Kings,  queens,  and 
princes  have  not  disdained  to  purchase  of  me.  The  great 
Sapor  at  Ctesiphon  has  of  me  procured  some  of  his  largest 
diamonds.  I  have  sold  to  Claudius  and  Zenobia  and  half 


180  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  nobility  of  Palmyra.  Dost  thou  see,  prince,  the  glory 
of  this  assortment  of  diamonds  ?  Look  !  How  would  they 
become  thy  finger,  thy  hunting-cap,  or  thy  sandals  ?  " 

Thy  brother  listened  to  me  with  unmoved  countenance 
and  folded  arms,  receiving  passively  whatever  I  was  pleased 
to  say.  When  I  paused,  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  sadness, 
though  of  affected  pleasantry :  — 

"  Jew,  I  am  the  worst  subject  for  thee  in  all  Ecbatana. 
I  am  a  man  without  wants.  I  do  nothing  but  live,  and  I 
have  nothing  to  do  to  live. " 

"  Now,  *  I  replied,  "  is  it  time  for  me  to  die,  having  seen 
the  chief  wonder  of  the  world, — a  man  without  wants.  " 

"  There  is  a  greater  yet, "  said  he,  smiling ;  "  thou  must 
live  on. " 

"  And  what  is  that  ?  " 

"  A  woman. " 

"  Thou  hast  me.  But  I  can  easily  compound  with  life. 
I  have  many  wants,  yet  I  love  it.  I  was  but  a  day  or  two 
since  buried  alive  under  the  burning  sands  of  the  desert, 
and  lost  there  a  dromedary  worth  —  if  a  farthing  —  four 
hundred  aurelians,  for  which  thou  mayest  have  him.  Yet 
I  love  to  live,  and  take  the  chances  of  the  world  as  they 
turn  up.  Here  now  have  I  all  the  way  consoled  myself 
with  the  thought  of  what  I  might  sell  to  the  great  Prince 
Hormisdas,  and  thou  seest  my  reward.  Still  I  cry  my 
goods  with  the  same  zeal.  But  surely  thou  wantest  some 
thing  ?  I  have  jewels  from  Eome,  of  the  latest  fashion.  " 

"  I  want  nothing  from  Home.  * 

Seeing  no  one  was  near,  and  lowering  my  voice,  I  said, 
"  Thou  wantest  nothing  from  Eome  ?  What  wouldst  thou 
give,  Eoman,  for  news  from  Eome  ?  " 

"  News  from  Eome  ?  Not  an  obolus.  How  knowest  thou 
me  to  be  a  Eoman  ?  But  now,  I  was  the  Prince  Hormisdas.  " 

"  I  have  seen  thee  many  times,  and  know  thee  well  as 
the  Eoman  Piso.  I  have  news  for  thee.  " 

"  The  prince  approaches  !  "  said  Piso,  in  a  hurried  manner. 
"  Begone,  but  come  again  at  the  hour  of  dusk,  and  I  shall  be 
alone,  and  will  have  thee  admitted  within  the  gates  of  the 
palace. " 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  181 

The  fates  ordering  it  so,  I  was  obliged  to  depart,  and  trust 
again  to  the  future  for  such  chances  of  renewing  my  con 
versation  with  him  as  it  might  have  to  offer.  Here  let  me 
tell  thee,  Lucius  Piso,  that  not  having  seen  thy  brother, 
thou  hast  never  seen  a  man.  He  is  one  with  every  mark 
of  the  noblest  manhood.  His  air  is  that  of  a  born  prince  of 
the  highest  bearing,  yet  free  and  unrestrained.  The  beauty 
of  his  countenance  is  beyond  that  of  any  other  I  have  ever 
seen,  yet  it  is  a  manly  beauty.  A  line  of  dark  short  hair 
covers  his  upper  lip.  His  eyes  are  large,  dark,  and  soft  in 
their  general  expression.  He  seems  of  a  melancholy  and 
thoughtful  temper,  and  sometimes  in  his  words  there  is  an 
inexpressible  bitterness.  Yet  it  has  appeared  to  me  that 
his  nature  is  gentle,  and  that  the  other  character  is  one 
accidental  or  assumed.  If  I  should  compare  him  with  any 
one  for  beauty,  it  would  be,  Koman,  not  with  thee, —  though 
I  see  him  and  thee  to  be  of  the  same  stock, —  but  with  the 
Princess  Julia.  Were  her  beauty  only  made  masculine, 
she  would  then  be  Calpurnius ;  or  were  his  made  feminine, 
he  would  then  be  Julia.  But  this  fancy  might  not  strike 
others.  His  features  and  air  are  not  so  much  Eoman  as 
Oriental;  thine  are  purely  Koman.  It  may  be  that  cos 
tume  alone  imparts  this  Eastern  aspect  to  the  countenance 
and  the  form,  for  his  dress  is  wholly  that  of  a  Persian. 

As  I  passed  into  the  dwelling  of  my  host,  entering  it  as 
at  first  by  the  way  of  the  shop,  its  owner  was  holding  a 
conversation  of  business  with  some  of  his  customers.  How 
does  money  seem  native  to  the  palm  of  some  men !  They 
have  but  to  open  it,  and  straight  it  is  lined  with  gold.  If 
they  blunder,  it  is  into  more  wealth.  With  wit  scarce 
sufficient  to  make  it  clear  to  another  that  they  are  properly 
men,  do  they  manage  to  make  themselves  the  very  chief  of 
all,  by  reason  of  the  riches  they  heap  up, — which  ever  have 
claimed  and  received,  and  ever  will,  the  homage  of  the 
world.  Levi  is  of  this  sort.  The  meanness  of  his  under 
standing  words  cannot  express, —  or  no  words  but  his  own. 
He  was  talking  after  this  manner  as  I  entered  to  one  who 
seemed  to  hold  him  in  utmost  reverence :  — 


182  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  The  thing  is  so  —  the  thing  is  so.  If  't  were  other 
wise,  't  is  most  clear  it  would  not  be  the  same.  Ha !  The 
price  may  change.  Who  can  say  ?  The  world  is  full  of 
change.  But  it  cannot  be  less,  and  leave  a  gain  to  the 
seller;  unless  indeed,  circumstances  altering,  the  profit 
should  still  be  the  same.  But  who  can  understand  the 
future  ?  An  hour  is  more  than  I  can  comprehend.  He  that 
deals  well  with  the  present,  is  it  not  he,  holy  Abraham ! 
who  best  secures  the  passing  time  ?  It  cannot  be  denied !  " 

As  the  oracle  ended,  the  Persian  bowed  low,  saying,  "  The 
wisdom  of  it  is  clearer  than  the  light.  I  shall  so  report  to 
the  prince.  "  Seeing  me,  he,  in  his  friendly  way,  inquired 
after  my  success,  shaking  his  head  at  what  he  is  pleased  to 
regard  my  mad  enterprise.  "  Better  not  meddle  nor  make 
in  such  matters.  With  thy  pack  upon  thy  back,  and  ex 
ercising  diligence,  thou  wouldst  become  rich  here  in  the 
streets  of  Ecbatana.  And  for  what  else  shouldst  thou  care  ? 
'T  is  only  money  that  remains  the  same  in  the  midst  of 
change.  All  agree  in  the  value  they  place  upon  this,  while 
they  agree  in  nothing  else..  Who  can  remember  a  differ 
ence  here  ?  Leave  thy  project,  Isaac,  which  thou  must  have 
undertaken  half  for  love,  and  I  will  make  thee  a  great  man 
in  Ecbatana.  *  Little  does  he  know  of  Isaac,  and  thou,  I 
believe,  as  little.  . 

No  sooner  had  the  god  of  these  idolaters  gone  down  to  his 
rest,  and  the  friendly  twilight  come,  than  I  set  forth  for  the 
palace  of  Hormisdas.  Upon  coming  beneath  the  gallery,  I 
waited  not  long  before  thy  brother  appeared,  and  pointed 
out  the  way  in  which,  through  a  low  and  private  entrance 
at  a  remote  spot,  I  might  reach  an  apartment  in  which  I 
should  find  him.  Following  his  directions,  I  was  received, 
accompanied  by  Hadad,  at  the  specified  place,  by  a  slave  of 
the  palace,  who  conducted  me  to  Piso's  presence.  It  was 
in  one  of  his  more  private  apartments,  but  still  sumptuously 
set  out  with  every  article  of  Persian  luxury,  in  which  I 
found  myself  once  more  in  company  with  thy  brother,  and 
where  I  ordered  Hadad  to  display  for  his  entertainment  the 
most  curious  and  costly  of  the  contents  of  his  pack. 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  183 

*  I  marvel  chiefly,  Koman, "  I  began  by  saying,  "  at  the 
ease  with  which  I  obtain  an  entrance  into  the  palace,  and 
into  thine  own  apartment.  I  had  thought  this  to  have  been 
attended  with  both  difficulty  and  danger. " 

"  It  is  not  without  danger, "  he  replied ;  "  thou  mayst  lose 
thy  head  for  this  adventure.  But  this  risk  I  suppose  thee 
to  have  weighed.  Every  one  in  Ecbatana  knows  Sapor  and 
me,  with  what  jealousy  I  am  guarded,  and  that  the  king 
will  not  flinch  to  keep  his  word,  and  take  off  any  head  that 
meddles.  But  fear  not.  The  king  is  old  and  weak,  and 
though  ciuel  as  ever,  forgets  me,  as  everything  else.  Be 
sides,  it  is  found  that  I  am  so  good  a  Persian,  that  all  strict 
ness  in  the  watch  has  long  since  ceased.  Half  Ecbatana 
believe  me  more  a  Persian  than  a  Eoman;  and  in  truth 
they  are  right. " 

"  Thou  hast  not,  Eoman,  forgotten  thy  country !  Surely 
thou  hast  not,  though  suffering  captivity,  ceased  to  love 
and  long  for  thy  native  land.  The  Jew  never  forgets  his. 
He  lives  indeed  in  every  corner  and  hole  of  the  earth,  but 
in  the  hope, —  't  is  this  that  keeps  his  life, — either  himself 
or  through  his  children,  to  dwell  once  more  within  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  or  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
Judea. " 

"  Where  we  are  not  loved  or  remembered,  we  cannot 
love, "  he  bitterly  replied.  "  I  loved  Eome  once  more  than 
I  loved  parent  or  kindred.  The  greatness  and  glory  of 
Eome  were  to  me  infinitely  more  than  my  own.  For  her  — 
in  my  beardless  youth  —  I  was  ready  to  lay  down  my  life 
at  any  moment.  Nay,  when  the  trial  came,  and  the  good 
Valerian  set  forth  to  redeem  the  East  from  the  encroaching 
power  of  Persia,  I  was  not  found  wanting,  but  abandoned 
a  home,  than  which  there  was  not  a  prouder  or  happier 
within  the  walls  of  Eome,  to  take  my  chance  with  thex 
emperor  and  my  noble  father.  The  issue  thou  knowest. 
How  has  Eome  remembered  me,  and  the  brave  legions  that 
with  me  fell  into  the  hands  of  these  fierce  barbarians? 
Even  as  Gallienus  the  son  seemed  to  rejoice  in  the  cap 
tivity  of  his  parent,  so  has  Eome  the  mother  seemed  to 


184  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

rejoice  in  the  captivity  of  her  children.  Not  an  arm  has 
she  lifted,  not  a  finger  has  she  moved,  to  lighten  the  chains 
of  our  bondage  or  rescue  us  from  this  thraldom.  Borne  is 
no  longer  my  country.  " 

"  Consider,  Koman, "  I  replied,  "  in  extenuation  of  thy 
country's  fault,  who  it  was  that  succeeded  the  good  Vale 
rian  ;  then  the  brief  reign  of  virtuous  Claudius,  who  died 
ere  a  single  purpose  had  time  to  ripen ;  and  the  hard  task 
that  has  tied  the  hands  of  Aurelian,  on  the  borders  of  Gaul 
and  Germany.  Have  patience.  " 

"  Dost  thou  not  blush,  old  man, "  he  said,  "  with  that 
long  grey  beard  of  thine,  and  thy  back  bent  with  years,  to 
stand  there  the  apologist  of  crime  ?  If  ingratitude  and 
heartlessness  are  to  be  defended  and  numbered  among  the 
virtues,  the  reign  of  Arimanes  has  indeed  begun.  Such  is 
not  the  lesson,  Jew,  thy  sacred  books  have  taught  thee. 
But  a  truce  with  this !  Thy  last  words  this  morning  were, 
that  thou  hadst  news  for  me.  For  Koman  news  I  care  not, 
nor  will  hear.  If  thou  canst  tell  me  aught  of  family  and 
friends,  say  on,  although  —  O  gods,  that  it  should  be  so !  — 
even  they  seem  to  share  the  guilt  of  all.  How  many  mes 
sengers  have  I  bribed  with  gold,  more  than  thou  hast  ever 
seen,  Jew,  to  bear  my  letters  to  Eome,  and  never  a  word 
has  been  returned  of  good  or  evil!  Canst  thou  tell  me 
anything  of  Portia,  my  mother,  or  of  Lucius  Piso,  my 
brother?  Live  they?" 

"  Do  I  not  know  them  well  ?  "  I  replied.  "  Who  that 
dwells  in  Eome  knows  not  the  noble  Portia?  She  lives 
yet ;  and  long  may  she  live,  the  friend  of  all !  To  Jew,  and 
even  to  Nazarene,  she  is  good,  even  as  to  her  own.  Never 
did  age  or  want  or  helplessness  ask  of  her  in  vain.  Years 
have  not  stopped  the  fountains  of  her  tears,  nor  chilled  a 
single  affection  of  her  heart.  And  dost  thou  think  that 
while  she  remembers  the  outcast  Jew,  and  the  despised 
Nazarene,  she  forgets  her  own  offspring  ?  Where  is  thy 
heart,  Eoman,  to  suppose  it  ?  Have  I  not  heard  her,  many 
a  time,  when  I  have  been  to  solicit  alms  for  some  poor 
unfortunate  of  my  tribe,  run  back  upon  the  line  of  years, 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  185 

and  speak  of  the  wars  of  Valerian ;  of  the  day  when  she 
parted  from  her  great  husband  and  her  two  sons;  and  of 
that  dark  day,  too,  when  the  news  came  that  they  were  all 
fast  in  the  clutch  of  that  foul  barbarian,  Sapor, —  and'  stood 
a  silent  and  astonished  witness  of  a  love,  such  as  I  never 
saw  in  any  other,  and  which  seemed  so  great  as  to  be  a 
necessary  seed  of  death  to  her  frail  and  shattered  frame? 
Of  thee,  especially,  have  I  heard  her  descant  as  mothers 
will,  and  tell,  one  after  another,  of  all  thy  beauties,  nay, 
and  of  the  virtues  which  bound  her  to  thee  so,  and  of  her 
trust  so  long  cherished,  that  thou,  more  than  either  of  her 
other  sons,  wouldst  live  to  sustain,  and  even  bear  up  higher, 
the  name  of  Piso.  " 

"  My  noble  mother !     Was  it  so,  indeed  ?  " 

"  How  should  it  be  otherwise  ?  Is  it  anything  that  thou 
hast  not  heard  from  her?  Was  she  to  tempt  herself  the 
horrors  of  a  Persian  journey  ?  Was  she,  in  her  age,  to  seek 
thee  over  the  sands  of  Asia,  or  thy  brother?  Especially 
when  it  was  held  in  Eome  not  more  certain  that  Valerian 
was  dead,  than  that  thy  father  and  thou  wert  also.  The 
same  messengers  related  both  events.  No  other  news  ever 
came  from  Ctesiphon.  Was  not  one  event  as  likely  as  the 
other  ?  Did  not  both  rest  upon  the  same  authority  ?  In 
the  same  commemorative  acts  of  the  Senate  were  thy  name, 
thy  father's,  thy  brother's,  and  the  emperor's,  with  others 
who  were  also  believed  to  have  perished.  Was  Portia 
alone,  of  all  Eome,  to  give  the  lie  to  universal  fame  ?  As 
for  thy  messengers,  art  thou  so  foolish  as  to  believe  that 
one  ever  crossed  the  desert,  or  escaped  the  meshes  set  for 
him  by  the  jealous  and  malignant  Sapor  ?  " 

"  It  is  enough,  Jew,  say  no  more. " 

"  But  I  have  much  more  to  say,  or  else  be  false  to  those 
who  sent  me. " 

"  Sent  thee !  who  sent  thee  ?  Speak !  do  Portia,  then, 
and  Lucius,  know  that  I  live  ?  And  art  thou  here,  a  mes 
senger  from  them  ?  " 

"  It  is  even  so.  " 

Thy  brother  was  greatly  moved.     At  first  he  made  as 


186  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

though  he  would  have  embraced  me,  but  turned  and  paced 
with  quick  and  agitated  steps  the  room. 

I  then  related  to  him  how  we  had  in  Rome  first  heard, 
through  that  soldier,  a  rumour  of  his  being  yet  alive,  —  but 
at  the  same  time  that  he  had  renounced  his  country,  and 
become  a  Persian  satrap.  I  told  him  of  thy  faith  in  him, 
and  of  Portia's,  that  he  would  never  prove  a  recreant  to 
his  country;  of  thy  instant  journey  to  Palmyra,  with  pur 
pose  to  cross  the  desert  thyself,  and  risk  all  the  danger  of 
Ecbatana,  to  accomplish  his  deliverance;  and  of  the  counsel 
of  Gracchus,  which  caused  thee  to  make  me  a  substitute. 

"  Lucius,  then, "  he  at  length  said,  approaching  me,  "  is 
in  Palmyra  ?  Is  it  so  ?  " 

"  It  is, "  I  said.  "  At  least  I  left  him  there.  He  was  to 
remain  there,  and  learn  the  issue  of  my  attempt.  If  I 
perished,  or  failed  in  the  endeavour  to  obtain  thy  freedom, 
then  was  it  his  purpose  himself  to  try;  unless  in  the 
mean  time  he  should  learn  through  me,  or  otherwise,  that 
thou  wert  too  wedded  to  Persia,  and  to  Persian  customs,  to 
consent  to  change  them  for  Rome  and  Roman  ways. " 

"  Jew,  thou  seest  that  now  I  hesitate.  Thou  hast  roused 
all  the  son,  the  brother,  and  something  of  the  Roman  within 
me.  I  am  drawn  many  ways.  To  Rome  I  will  never  re 
turn  ;  toward  her  a  resentment  burns  deep  within,  which  I 
know  will  close  only  with  life  itself.  But  toward  Palmyra 
my  heart  yearns.  'T  was  Zenobia  alone,  of  all  the  world, 
that  ever  moved  for  the  rescue  of  Valerian ;  't  was  she  alone, 
of  all  the  world,  who  pitied  our  sorrows,  and,  though  she 
could  not  heal,  revenged  them.  Her  image  has  been  a  dear 
source  of  consolation  in  this  long  captivity.  I  have  eagerly 
sought  for  all  that  could  be  obtained  concerning  her  char 
acter,  her  acts,  her  policy,  and  the  state  of  her  affairs. 
And  often  have  I  thought  to  slip  my  bonds,  and  throw  my 
self  at  her  feet,  to  serve  with  her,  if  need  should  be,  either 
against  Rome  or  Persia.  But  habit  has  prevailed,  and  the 
generous  friendship  of  Hormisdas,  to  keep  me  here.  And 
why  should  I  change  this  not  unpleasing  certainty  for  the 
doubtful  future  that  must  await  me  in  Palmyra  ?  Here  I 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  187 

am  in  the  very  lap  of  luxury.  I  am,  as  I  have  said  to  thee, 
a  man  without  wants.  All  countries  and  climates  and 
seas  and  arts  minister  to  my  pleasure.  The  learning  of 
ancient  and  of  modern  times,  you  see  there  piled  up  on  the 
shelves,  to  entertain  my  leisure,  or  task  my  hours  of  study. 
I  am  without  care,  without  the  necessity  of  toil,  with  a 
palace,  its  slaves,  and  I  may  add  its  prince,  at  my  com 
mand.  And  beyond  all  this  present  reality,  there  is  the 
prospect  of  everything  else  that  Persia  contains,  upon  the 
death  of  Sapor,  which,  in  the  course  of  nature,  cannot  he 
far  off,  if  violence  do  not  anticipate  that  hour.  Yet  what 
thou  now  tellest  me,  renews  my  desire  of  change.  Lucius 
is  in  Palmyra  —  perhaps  he  would  dwell  there.  'T  is  the 
home,  I  learn,  of  many  noble  Eomans.  Who  can  say  that 
Portia  might  not  come  and  complete  our  happiness  ?  " 

And  saying  these  things,  he  began  to  muse.  He  again 
paced,  with  folded  arms,  the  long  apartment.  I  saw  that 
he  was  still  distracted  by  doubts.  I  knew  of  but  one  thing 
more  to  say  by  which  to  work  upon  his  passionate  nature. 
I  resolved  to  do  it,  though  I  know  not  what  thou  wilt  say 
to  it,  nor  what  the  event  may  be.  There  was,  thou  know- 
est,  ere  I  left  Palmyra,  rumour  of  war  between  Palmyra 
'and  Rome.  Barely  to  name  this,  it  seemed  to  me,  would 
be  on  the  instant  to  fix  his  wavering  mind.  I  could  not 
withstand  the  temptation.  But  Piso  once  in  Palmyra,  and 
sure  I  am  I  shall  be  forgiven.  I  began  again  thus  :  — 

"  Gracchus,  too ;  Roman,  dost  thou  not  remember  the 
family  of  Gracchus  ?  He  also  is  in  Palmyra.  " 

"  Ay,  I  remember  him  well.  A  man  of  true  nobility, 
now  one  of  the  queen's  chief  advisers,  and  head  of  the 
senate.  He  had  a  daughter,  too,  who,  her  mother  dying 
young,  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Portia,  and  was  as  a 
sister.  Does  she  live,  and  dwells  she  in  Palmyra  ?  " 

"  She  lives,  and  beneath  her  father's  roof.  Fame  speaks 
of  her  beauty  and  her  wit,  and  more  loudly  still,  of  her 
young  wisdom,  and  influence  with  the  queen.  Her  spirit 
is  the  counterpart  of  Zenobia's.  She  is,  notwithstanding 
her  long  Roman  nurture,  a  Palmyrene  of  the  truest  stamp. 


188  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

And  ever  since  there  have  been  these  rumours  of  a  war  with 
Eome  —  " 

"  What  sayest  thou  ?  What  is  that  ?  War  with  Eome  ? 
Did  I  hear  aright  ?  " 

"  Verily  thou  didst  'T  was  the  current  report  when  I 
left  Palmyra.  It  came  "both  by  the  way  of  Antioch  and 
Alexandria.  Nothing  was  talked  of  else,  ever  since,  I  say.  " 

"  Why  hast  thou  not  said  this  before  ?  How  shall  I 
believe  thee  ?  " 

"  I  said  it  not  before,  simply  because  I  thought  not  of  it. 
How  was  I  to  know  what  thou  most  desired  to  hear  ?  I  can 
give  thee  no  other  ground  of  belief  than  common  rumour. 
If  my  own  opinion  will  weigh  aught,  I  may  add  that  for 
myself  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  the  report  springs  from 
truth.  When  at  Rome,  it  was  commonly  spoken  of  —  and 
by  those,  too,  whom  I  knew  to  be  near  the  emperor  —  that 
Aurelian  felt  himself  aggrieved  and  insulted  that  a  woman 
should  hold  under  her  dominion  territories  that  once  be 
longed  to  Rome,  and  who  had  wrested  them  from  Rome  by 
defeat  of  Roman  generals,  and  had  sworn  to  restore  the 
empire  in  the  East,  as  well  as  West,  to  its  ancient  bounds. 
At  Palmyra,  too,  I  found  those  who  were  of  deep  intelli 
gence  in  the  politics  of  the  times,  who  felt  sure  of  nothing 
more  than  that,  what  with  the  pride  of  Zenobia  and  the 
ambition  of  Aurelian,  war  was  inevitable.  I  tell  thee  these 
things  as  they  fell  upon  my  ear.  Before  this,  as  I  think,  it 
is  most  likely  that  war  may  have  broken  out  between  the 
two  nations. " 

"  Thou  hast  now  spoken,  Jew, "  said  Calpurnius.  *  Hadst 
thou  said  these  things  at  first,  thou  hadst  spared  me  much 
tormenting  doubt.  My  mind  is  now  bent  and  determined 
upon  flight.  This  it  will  not  be  difficult,  I  think,  to  ac 
complish.  But  what  is  thy  plan  ?  —  for  I  suppose,  coming 
upon  this  errand,  thou  hast  one  well  digested.  But  re 
member  now,  as  I  have  already  warned  thee,  that  thy  head 
will  answer  for  any  failure ;  detection  will  be  death. " 

"  Death  is  little  to  a  Jew  who  in  dying  dies  for  his 
country.  And  such  would  be  my  death.  Whether  I  live 


TIDINGS  OF  CALPURNIUS.  189 

or  die,  't  is  for  Jerusalem.  Thy  brother  rewards  me  largely 
for  this  journey,  and  these  dangers  I  encounter;  and  if  I 
perish,  the  double  of  the  whole  sum  agreed  upon  is  to  be 
paid  according  to  certain  directions  left  with  him.  I  would 
rather  live,  but  I  shall  not  shrink  from  death.  But,  Piso, 
detection  shall  not  ensue.  I  have  not  lived  to  this  age 
to  writhe  upon  a  Persian  spear,  or  grin  from  over  a  Persian 
gateway.  What  I  have  devised  is  this.  Thou  seest  my  slave 
Hadad  ?" 

"  I  see  him  —  an  Ethiopian.  " 

"  So  he  seems  to  thee.  But  his  skin  is  white  as  thine. 
By  an  art  known  only  to  me,  it  has  been  changed  to  this 
ebon  hue. " 

"  What  follows  ?  " 

"  This  follows.  Thou  art  to  take  his  place,  thy  skin 
being  first  made  to  resemble  his,  while  he  is  cleansed  and 
remains  in  Ecbatana.  We,  then,  thou  bearing  my  pack 
ages  of  merchandise,  take  our  way,  quietly,  and  in  broad 
daylight,  through  the  gates  of  Ecbatana.  How  say'st 
thou  ?  " 

"  The  invention  is  perfect.  I  cannot  fear  the  result. 
Soon,  then,  as  I  shall  have  made  some  few  preparations, 
for  which  to-morrow  will  suffice,  I  shall  be  ready  for  the 
desert. " 

I  heard  these  words  with  joy.  I  now  called  to  Hadad  to 
open  his  cases  of  jewels,  from  which  I  took  a  seal  having 
upon  it  the  head  of  Zenobia,  and  offered  it  to  Calpurnius. 
He  seized  it  with  eagerness,  having  never  before  seen  even 
so  much  as  a  drawing  of  the  great  queen.  I  then  drew 
forth  thine  own  ring,  and  gave  it  to  him,  with  that  lockel 
containing  the  hair  of  Portia,  and  thy  letter.  He  received 
them  with  emotion ;  and  as  I  engaged  myself  in  repacking 
my  goods,  my  quick  ear  caught  tears  falling  upon  the  sheet 
as  he  read. 

I  then  returned  to  the  house  of  Levi. 

Thus  have  I  accomplished,  successfully  so  far,  my  errand. 
I  write  these  things  to  thee,  because  a  caravan  leaves  Ec 
batana  in  the  morning,  and  may  reach  Palmyra  before  our* 


190  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

selves,  though  it  is  quite  possible  that  we  may  overtake  and 
join  it.  But  we  may  also  be  delayed  for  many  days.  So 
that  it  is  right,  in  that  case,  thou  shouldst  hear. 

In  these  words,  my  Curtius,  you  have,  for  the  most  part, 
the  letter  of  Isaac.  I  have  omitted  many  things  which,  at 
another  time,  you  shall  see.  They  are  such  as  relate  chiefly 
to  himself  and  his  faith, —  abounding  in  cautions  against 
that  heretic  Probus,  who  haunts  his  imagination  as  if  he 
were  the  very  genius  of  evil. 

How  can  I  believe  it,  that  within  a  few  hours  I  may 
embrace  a  brother  separated  so  long,  and  so  long  numbered 
with  the  dead  ?  Yet  how  mixed  the  pleasure !  He  returns 
a  brother,  but  not  a  Koman.  Nay,  't  is  the  expectation  of 
war  with  Eome  that  has  gained  him.  I  am  perplexed  and 
sad,  at  the  same  time  that  I  leap  for  joy.  Fausta  cannot 
conceal  her  satisfaction ;  yet  she  pities  me.  Gracchus 
tells  us  to  moderate  our  feelings  and  expectations,  as  the 
full  cup  is  often  spilled.  No  more  now,  except  this, — 
that  you  fail  not  at  once  to  send  this  letter  to  Portia, 
Farewell  I 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  191 


LETTER  IX. 

THE  CHRISTIANS   OF  PALMYRA. 

THE  ARAB.  —  MILO'S  ANGER.  —  THE  STREET  OF  PALMS.  —  THE 
PORTICO.  —  THE  PHILOSOPHER.  —  PROBUS  PREACHING.  —  PAUL 
OF  ANTIOCH.  —  THE  CHRISTIANS  ASSEMBLED  FOR  WORSHIP. — 
PROBUS. 

SEVERAL  days  have  elapsed  since  I  last  wrote,  yet 
Calpurnius  is  not  arriyed.  I  am  filled  with  appre 
hensions.  I  fear  lest  he  may  have  thought  too  lightly  of 
the  difficulties  of  an  escape,  and  of  the  strictness  with 
which  he  is  watched ;  for  while  he  seems  to  have  held  it 
an  easy  matter  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  his  keepers,  com 
mon  opinion  at  Ecbatana  appears  to  have  judged  very  dif 
ferently.  Yet,  after  all,  I  cannot  but  rely  with  much 
confidence  upon  the  discretion  and  the  cunning  of  Isaac. 
I  must  now  relate  what  has  happened  in  the  mean  time. 

It  was  the  morning  after  Isaac's  letter  had  been  received 
and  read,  that  Milo  presented  himself  with  a  countenance 
and  manner  indicative  of  some  inward  disturbance. 
"  And  what, "  I  asked,  "  may  be  the  matter  ?  " 
"  Enough  is  the  matter,  both  for  yourself  and  me, "  he 
replied.  "  Here  now  has  been  a  wretch  of  an  Arab,  a  fel 
low  of  no  appearance,  a  mere  camel-driver,  desiring  to  see 
you.  I  told  him  flatly  that  you  were  not  to  be  seen  by 
scum  such  as  he.  I  advised  him  to  be  gone  before  he 
might  have  to  complain  of  a  broken  head.  And  what  do 
you  suppose  was  the  burden  of  his  errand?  Why,  truly, 
to  ask  of  the  most  noble  Piso  concerning  his  wife  and  child  ! 
I  begged  him  to  consider  whether,  supposing  you  did  know 
aught  concerning  them,  you  would  deign  to  communicate 
with  a  sun-baked  beggar  of  the  desert  like  him  ?  Where- 


192  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

upon  he  raised  a  lance  longer  than  a  mast,  and  would  have 
run  me  through,  but  for  the  expertness  with  which  I  seized 
and  wrested  it  from  him,  and  then  broke  it  over  his  head. 
'T  was  the  same  scowling  knave  whose  camels  choked  the 
street  the  first  day  we  entered  the  city,  and  who  sent  his 
curse  after  us.  Hassan  is  his  name.  His  eye  left  a  mark 
on  me  that 's  not  out  yet.  A  hyena's  is  nothing  to  it. " 

Thus  did  he  run  on.  I  could  have  spared  him  as  wil 
lingly  as  Hassan.  It  was  plain  that  the  husband  of  the 
woman  found  in  the  desert  by  Isaac,  hearing  a  rumour  of 
intelligence  received  by  me,  had  been  to  obtain  such  infor 
mation  as  possibly  I  might  possess  of  his  wife  and  child. 
Upon  asking  my  slave  where  the  camel-driver  now  was,  he 
replied,  that,  "  Truly  he  did  not  know ;  he  had  been  driven 
from  the  court-yard  with  blows,  and  it  was  a  mercy  that 
his  life  was  left  to  him.  He  had  been  taught  how  again  to 
curse  Romans. " 

It  was  in  vain  that  I  assured  him  once  and  again  that 
he  was  no  longer  in  the  service  of  an  emperor,  and  that  it 
was  unnecessary  to  treat  me  with  quite  so  much  deference ; 
his  only  regret  was,  that  the  robber  had  got  off  so  easily. 
As  the  only  reparation  in  my  power  for  such  stupidity  and 
inhumanity,  I  ordered  Milo  instantly  to  set  forth  in  search 
of  Hassan,  in  the  quarter  of  the  city  which  the  Arabs 
chiefly  frequent,  and,  finding  him,  to  bring  him  to  the 
house  of  Gracchus,  for  I  had  news  for  him.  This  was  little 
relished  by  Milo,  and  I  could  see,  by  the  change  of  his 
countenance,  that  his  cowardly  soul  was  ill  inclined  to  an 
encounter  with  the  insulted  Arab  in  the  remote  parts  of  the 
city,  and  unaccompanied  by  any  of  the  slaves  of  the  palace. 
Nevertheless,  he  started  upon  his  mission,  but,  as  I  after 
wards  learned,  bribed  Hannibal  to  act  as  life-guard. 

Thinking  that  I  might  possibly  fall  in  with  him  myself, 
and  desirous,  moreover,  of  an  occupation  that  should  cause 
me  to  forget  Calpurnius  and  my  anxieties  for  a  season,  I 
went  forth  also,  taking  the  paths  that  first  offered  them 
selves.  A  sort  of  instinct  drew  me,  as  it  almost  always 
does,  to  one  of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  denomi- 


L 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  193 

nated,  from  the  size  and  beauty  of  the  trees  which  adorn  it, 
the  Street  of  Palms.  This  is  an  avenue  which  traverses  the 
city  in  its  whole  length ;  and  at  equal  distances  from  its 
centre,  and  also  running  its  whole  length,  there  shoots  up 
a  double  row  of  palms,  which,  far  above  the  roofs  of  the 
highest  buildings,  spread  out  their  broad  and  massy  tufts 
of  leaves,  and  perfectly  protect  the  throngs  below  from  the 
rays  of  the  blazing  sun.  Thus  a  deep  shadow  is  cast  upon 
the  floor  of  the  street,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  un 
encumbered  by  the  low  branches,  which  on  every  other 
kind  of  tree  stretch  out  in  all  directions,  and  obstruct  the 
view,  taking  away  a  greater  beauty  and  advantage  than  they 
give.  This  palm  is  not  the  date-bearing  species,  but  of  an 
other  sort,  attaining  a  loftier  growth,  and  adorned  with  a 
larger  leaf.  A  pity,  truly,  it  is,  that  Eome  cannot  crown 
itself  with  this  princely  diadem;  but  even  though  the 
bitter  blasts  from  the  Apennines  did  not  prevent,  a  want 
of  taste  for  what  is  beautiful  would.  The  Eoman  is  a 
coarse  form  of  humanity,  Curtius,  compared  with  either 
the  Greek  or  the  Palmyrene.  Komans  will  best  conquer 
the  world,  or  defend  it ;  but  its  adorning  should  be  left  to 
others.  Their  hands  are  rude,  and  they  but  spoil  what  they 
touch.  Since  the  days  of  Cicero,  and  the  death  of  the  Re 
public,  what  has  Rome  done  to  advance  any  cause,  save  that 
of  slavery  and  licentiousness  ?  A  moral  Hercules  is  needed 
to  sweep  it  clean  of  corruptions,  which  it  is  amazing  have 
not  ere  this  drawn  down  the  thunder  of  the  gods.  Julia 
would  say  that  Christ  is  that  Hercules.  May  it  be  so ! 

Along  the  street  which  I  had  thus  entered,  I  slowly 
sauntered,  observing  the  people  who  thronged  it,  and  the 
shops  with  their  varieties  which  lined  it.  I  could  easily 
gather,  from  the  conversation  which  now  and  then  fell  upon 
my  ear  —  sometimes  as  I  mingled  with  those  who  were  ob 
serving  a  fine  piece  of  sculpture  or  a  new  picture  exposed 
for  sale,  or  examining  the  articles  which  some  hawker,  with 
much  vociferation,  thrust  upon  the  attention  of  those  who 
were  passing  along,  or  waiting  at  a  fountain,  while  slaves 
in  attendance  served  round,  in  vessels  of  glass,  water  cooled 

13 


194  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

with  snow,  and  flavoured  with  the  juice  of  fruits  peculiar 
to  the  East  —  that  the  arrival  of  the  ambassadors  had  caused 
a  great  excitement  among  the  people,  and  had  turned  all 
thoughts  into  one  channel.  Frequently  were  they  gathered 
together  in  groups,  around  some  of  the  larger  trees,  or  at  the 
corners  of  the  streets,  or  at  the  entrance  of  some  conspicu 
ous  shop,  to  listen  to  the  news  which  one  had  to  tell,  or  to 
arguments  upon  the  all-engrossing  theme  with  which  another 
sought  to  bring  over  those  who  would  listen  to  one  or  another 
side  of  the  great  question.  But  I  must  confess,  that  but 
in  a  very  few  instances,  the  question  was  no  question  at  all, 
and  had  but  one  side.  Those  whom  I  heard,  and  who  were 
listened  to  by  any  numbers,  and  with  any  patience,  were 
zealous  patriots,  inveighing  bitterly  against  the  ambition 
and  tyranny  of  Home,  and  prognosticating  national  degra 
dation  and  ruin  and  slavery,  if  once  the  policy  of  conces 
sion  to  her  demands  was  adopted. 

"  Palmyra, "  they  said,  "  with  Zenobia  and  Longinus  at 
her  head,  the  deserts  around  her,  and  Persia  to  back  her, 
might  fearlessly  stand  against  Rome  and  the  world.  Em 
pire  began  in  the  East ;  it  had  only  wandered  for  a  while 
to  the  West  —  losing  its  way.  The  East  was  its  native 
seat,  and  there  it  would  return.  Why  should  not  Palmyra 
be  what  Assyria  and  Persia  once  were  ?  What  kingdom  of 
the  world,  and  what  age,  could  ever  boast  a  general  like 
Zabdas,  a  minister  like  Longinus,  a  queen  like  the  great 
Zenobia  ?  "  At  such  flights,  the  air  would  resound  with 
the  plaudits  of  the  listening  crowd,  who  would  then  dis 
perse  and  pursue  their  affairs,  or  presently  gather  around 
some  new  declaimer. 

I  was  greatly  moved,  on  several  of  these  occasions,  to 
make  a  few  statements  in  reply  to  some  of  the  orators,  and 
which  might  possibly  have  let  a  little  light  upon  minds 
willing  to  know  the  truth ;  but  I  doubted  whether  even  the 
proverbially  good-natured  and  courteous  Palmy renes  might 
not  take  umbrage  at  it.  As  I  turned  from  one  of  these 
little  knots  of  politicians,  I  encountered  Otho,  a  nobleman 
of  Palmyra,  and  one  of  the  queen's  council.  "  I  was  just 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYEA.  195 

asking  myself, "  said  I,  saluting  him,  "  whether  the  temper 
of  your  people,  even  and  forbearing  as  it  is,  would  allow  a 
Roman  in  their  own  city  to  harangue  them,  who  should  not 
so  much  advocate  a  side,  as  aim  to  impart  truth.  " 

"  Genuine  Palmyrenes, "  he  answered,  "  would  listen  with 
patience  and  civility.  But  in  a  crowded  street,  one  can 
never  answer  for  his  audience.  You  see  here  not  only 
Palmyrenes,  but  strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  East, — 
people  from  our  conquered  provinces  and  dependencies, 
who  feel  politically  with  the  Palmyrene,  but  yet  have  not 
the  manners  of  the  Palmyrene.  There  is  an  Armenian, 
there  a  Saracen,  there  an  Arab,  there  a  Cappadocian, 
there  a  Jew,  and  there  an  Egyptian, —  all  politically,  per 
haps,  with  us,  but  otherwise  a  part  of  us  not  more  than  the 
Ethiopian  or  Scythian.  The  senate  of  Palmyra  would  hear 
all  you  might  say,  or  the  queen's  council, —  but  not  the 
street,  I  fear.  Nay,  one  of  these  idle  boys,  but  whose 
patriotism  is  ever  boiling  over,  might,  in  his  zeal  and  his 
ignorance,  do  that  which  should  bring  disgrace  upon  our 
good  city.  I  should  rather  pray  you  to  forbear.  But  if 
you  will  extend  your  walk  to  the  Portico,  which  I  have  just 
left,  you  will  there  find  a  more  select  crowd  than  jostles  us 
where  we  stand,  and  perhaps  ears  ready  to  hear  you.  All 
that  you  may  say  to  divert  the  heart  of  the  nation  from  this 
mad  enterprise,  I  shall  be  most  grateful  for.  But  any 
words  which  you  may  speak,  or  which  a  present  god  might 
utter,  would  avail  no  more  against  the  reigning  frenzy  than 
would  a  palm-leaf  against  a  whirlwind  of  the  desert.  " 

As  he  uttered  these  words  with  a  voice  somewhat  ele 
vated,  several  had  gathered  about  us,  listening  with  eager 
ness  to  what  the  noble  and  respected  Otho  had  to  say. 
They  heard  him  attentively,  shook  their  heads,  and  turned 
away,  some  saying,  "  He  is  a  good  man,  but  timid. n 
Others  scrupled  not  to  impute  to  him  a  "  Roman  bearing.  " 
When  he  had  ended,  seeing  that  a  number  had  pressed 
around,  he  hastily  wished  me  a  happy  day,  and  moved 
down  the  street.  I  bent  my  way  toward  the  Portico, 
ruminating  the  while  upon  the  fates  of  empires. 


196  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

I  soon  reached  that  magnificent  structure,  with  its  end 
less  lines  of  columns.  More  than  the  usual  crowd  of  talk 
ers,  idlers,  strangers,  buyers,  and  sellers,  thronged  its 
ample  pavements.  One  portion  of  it  seems  to  be  appro 
priated,  at  least  abandoned,  to  those  who  have  aught  that 
is  rare  and  beautiful  to  dispose  of.  Around  one  column 
stands  a  Jew  with  antiquities  raked  from  the  ruins  of 
Babylon  or  Thebes, —  displaying  their  coins,  their  muti 
lated  statuary,  or  half-legible  inscriptions.  At  another, 
you  see  a  Greek  with  some  masterpiece  of  Zeuxis  —  no 
body  less  —  which  he  swears  is  genuine,  and  to  his  oaths 
added  a  parchment  containing  its  history,  with  names  of 
men  in  Athens,  Antioch,  and  Alexandria,  who  attest  it  all. 
At  the  foot  of  another,  sits  a  dealer  in  manuscripts,  remark 
able  either  as  being  the  complete  works  of  distinguished 
authors,  or  for  the  perfection  of  the  art  of  the  copyist,  or 
for  their  great  antiquity.  Here  were  Manetho  and  San 
ction  iathon  to  be  had,  perfect  and  complete.  Not  far  from 
these  stood  others,  who  offered  statuary,  ancient  and  mod 
ern,  vases  of  every  beautiful  form,  from  those  of  Egypt 
and  Etruria  to  the  freshly-wrought  ones  of  our  own  Deme 
trius,  and  jewellery  of  the  most  rare  and  costly  kind. 
There  is  scarce  an  article  of  taste,  or  valuable  of  any  sort 
whatever,  but  may  be  found  here,  brought  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  In  Persian,  Indian,  and  Chinese  rarities, —  and 
which  in  Eome  are  rarities  indeed, —  I  have  dealt  largely, 
and  shall  return  with  much  to  show  you. 

When,  with  some  toil,  I  had  won  a  passage  through  this 
busy  mart,  I  mingled  with  a  different  crowd.  I  passed  from 
buyers  and  sellers  among  those  who  were,  like  myself, 
brought  there  merely  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  others,  of 
passing  the  time,  and  observing  the  beautiful  effects  of  this 
interminable  Portico  with  its  moving  and  changing  crowds 
robed  in  a  thousand  varieties  of  the  richest  costume.  It 
was  indeed  a  spectacle  of  beauty  such  as  I  never  had  seen 
before,  or  elsewhere.  I  chose  out  point  after  point,  and 
stood  a  silent  and  rapt  observer  of  the  scene.  Of  the  view 
from  one  of  these  points,  I  have  purchased  a  painting,  done 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  197 

with  exquisite  skill,  which  I  shall  send  to  you,  and  which 
will  set  before  you  almost  the  living  reality. 

To  this  part  of  the  Portico  those  resort  who  wish  to  hear 
the  opinions  of  the  day  upon  subjects  of  politics  or  litera 
ture  or  philosophy,  or  to  disseminate  their  own.  He  who 
cherishes  a  darling  theory  upon  any  branch  of  knowledge, 
and  would  promulgate  it,  let  him  come  here,  and  he  will 
find  hearers  at  least.  As  I  walked  along,  I  was  attracted 
by  a  voice  declaiming  with  much  earnestness  to  a  crowd  of 
hearers,  and  who  seemed,  as  I  drew  near,  to  Jisten  with 
attention,  some  being  seated  upon  low  blocks  of  marble 
arranged  among  the  columns  of  the  Portico  for  this  purpose, 
others  leaning  against  the  columns  themselves,  and  others 
standing  on  the  outside  of  the  circle.  The  philosopher  — 
for  such  I  perceived  him  at  once  to  be  —  was  evidently  a 
Greek.  He  was  arrayed  in  a  fashionable  garb,  with  a  robe 
much  like  our  toga  thrown  over  his  shoulders,  and  which 
he  made  great  use  of  in  his  gesticulations.  A  heavy  chain 
of  gold  wound  around  his  neck,  and  then  crossing  several 
times  his  breast,  hung  down  in  artificially-arranged  fes 
toons.  A  general  air  of  effeminacy  produced  in  the  hearer 
at  once  a  state  of  mind  not  very  favourably  disposed  to 
receive  his  opinions.  The  first  words  I  caught  were  these : 
"In  this  manner,"  said  he,  "did  that  wonderful  genius 
interpret  the  universe.  'Tis  not  credible  that  any  but 
children  and  slaves  should  judge  differently.  Was  there 
once  nothing  ?  Then  were  there  nothing  now.  But  there 
is  something  now.  We  see  it.  The  world  is.  Then  it 
has  always  been.  It  is  an  Eternal  Being.  It  is  infinite. 
Ha!  can  you  escape  me  now?  Say,  can  there  be  two  in 
finites  ?  Then  where  are  your  gods,  the  fabled  creator  or 
creators  —  be  they  many  or  one  —  of  the  universe  ?  Van 
ished,  I  fancy,  at  the  touch  of  my  intellectual  wand,  into 
thin  air.  Congratulate  yourselves  upon  your  freedom.  The 
Egyptians  had  gods,  and  you  know  what  they  were.  The 
Greeks  had  gods,  and  you  know  what  they  were.  Those 
nations  grovelled  and  writhed  under  their  partly  childish, 
partly  terrific,  and  partly  disgusting  superstitions.  Happy 


198  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

that  the  reality  of  divine  natures  can,  so  easily  as  I  have 
now  done  it,  be  disapproved !  The  superincumbent  gloom 
is  dispersed.  Light  has  broken  through.  And  so,  too, 
touching  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Immortality  of  the 
soul !  Did  any  one  of  you  ever  see  a  soul  ?  I  should  like 
to  have  that  question  answered"  (he  swung  defyingly 
his  robe,  and  paused).  "  Did  any  one  ever  see  a  soul  ? 
Yes,  and  that  it  was  immortal,  too !  You  see  a  body,  and 
therefore  you  believe  in  it.  You  see  that  it  is  mortal,  and 
therefore  you  believe  in  its  mortality.  You  do  not  see 
the  soul,  therefore  you  believe  in  one  ?  Is  that  your  rea 
soning  ?  How  plain  the  argument  is !  When  the  god  or 
gods  —  suppose  their  being  —  shall  send  down  and  impart 
to  me  the  astounding  fact  that  I  am  not  one,  as  I  seem, 
but  two ;  am  not  mortal,  as  I  seem,  but  immortal ;  do  not 
melt  into  dust  at  death,  but  rise  in  spirit, — then  will  I 
believe  such  things,  not  otherwise.  Have  we  knowledge 
of  any  other  existences  —  elemental  existences  —  than  cor 
poreal  atoms  ?  None.  These  constitute  the  human  being. 
Death  is  their  separation,  and  that  separation  means  the 
end  of  the  being  they  once  did  constitute.  But  it  may  all 
be  summed  up  in  a  word.  When  you  can  see  and  touch 
your  own  soul,  as  you  do  see  and  touch  your  body,  believe 
in  it.  Deny  and  reject  this  principle,  and  the  world  will 
continue  to  suffer  from  its  belief  in  gorgons,  demons,  spec 
tres,  gods,  and  monsters,  in  Tartarean  regions  and  tor 
ments  of  damned  spirits.  Adopt  it,  and  life  flows  undis 
turbed  by  visionary  fears,  and  death  comes  as  a  long  and 
welcome  sleep,  upon  which  no  terrors  and  no  dreams 
intrude. " 

Such  was  the  doctrine,  and  such  nearly  the  language,  of 
the  follower  of  Epicurus.  You  will  easily  judge  how  far 
he  misrepresented  the  opinions  of  that  philosopher.  As  I 
turned  away  from  this  mischievous  dealer  in  Cimmerian 
darkness,  I  inquired  of  one  who  stood  near  me,  who  this 
great  man  might  be  ? 

"  What, "  said  he,  in  reply,  "  do  you  not  know  Critias 
the  Epicurean  ?  You  must  be  a  stranger  in  Palmyra.  Do 


THE   CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  199 

you  not  see,  by  the  quality  of  his  audience,  that  he  leads 
away  with  him  all  the  fine  spirits  of  the  city  ?  Observe 
how  the  greater  number  of  those  who  hang  upon  his  lips 
resemble,  in  their  dress  and  air,  the  philosopher. " 

"  I  see  it  is  so.  It  seems  as  if  all  the  profligates  and 
young  rakes  of  Palmyra  —  of  the  nobler  sort  —  were  assem 
bled  here  to  receive  some  new  lessons  in  the  art  of  self- 
destruction.  " 

"  Many  a  philosopher  of  old  would,  I  believe, "  he  re 
joined,  "  have  prayed  that  his  system  might  perish  with 
himself,  could  he  have  looked  forward  into  futurity,  and 
known  how  it  would  be  interpreted  and  set  forth  by  his 
followers.  The  temperate  and  virtuous  Epicurus  little 
thought  that  his  name  and  doctrine  would  in  after-times 
be  the  rallying-point  for  the  licentious  and  dissolute.  His 
philosophy  was  crude  enough,  and  mischievous,  I  grant,  in 
its  principles  and  tendencies.  But  it  was  promulgated,  I  am 
sure,  with  honest  intentions,  and  he  himself  was  not  aware 
of  its  extreme  liability  to  misapprehension  and  perversion. 
How  would  his  ears  tingle  at  what  we  have  now  heard !  " 

"  And  would,  after  all,  deserve  it, "  I  replied.  "  For  he, 
it  seems  to  me,  is  too  ignorant  of  human  nature  to  venture 
upon  the  office  of  teacher  of  mankind,  who  believes  that  the 
reality  of  a  superintending  providence  can  be  denied,  with 
safety  to  the  world.  A  glance  at  history,  and  the  slightest 
penetration  into  human  character,  would  have  shown  him, 
that  atheism,  in  any  of  its  forms,  is  incompatible  with  the 
existence  of  a  social  state.  " 

"  What  you  say  is  very  true, "  replied  the  Palmyrene ;  "  I 
defend  only  the  intentions  and  personal  character  of  Epi 
curus,  not  his  real  fitness  for  his  office.  This  Critias,  were 
it  not  for  the  odiousness  of  any  interference  with  men's 
opinions,  I  should  like  to  see  driven  from  our  city  back  to 
his  native  Athens.  Listen,  now,  as  he  lays  down  the 
method  of  a  happy  life.  See  how  these  young  idlers  drink 
in  the  nectarean  stream.  But  enough.  I  leave  them  in 
their  own  sty.  Farewell.  Pray  invite  the  philosopher  to 
visit  you  at  Koine.  We  can  spare  him. " 


200  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Saying  this,  he  turned  upon  his  heel,  and  went  his  way. 
I  also  passed  on.  Continuing  my  walk  up  the  Portico,  I 
perceived  at  a  little  distance  another  dark  mass  of  persons, 
apparently  listening  with  profound  attention  to  one  who 
was  addressing  them.  Hoping  to  hear  some  one  discours 
ing  upon  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  its  prospects, 
I  joined  the  circle.  But  I  was  disappointed.  The  orator 
was  a  follower  of  Plato,  and  a  teacher  of  his  philosophy. 
His  aim  seemed  to  be  to  darken  the  minds  of  his  hearers  by 
unintelligible  refinements,  at  least  such  I  thought  the  effect 
must  be.  He  clothed  his  thoughts  —  if  thoughts  there 
really  were  any  —  in  such  a  many-coloured  cloud  of  poetic 
diction  that  the  mind,  while  it  was  undoubtedly  excited, 
received  not  a  single  clear  idea,  but  was  left  in  a  pleasing, 
half -bewildered  state,  with  visions  of  beautiful  divine  truth 
floating  before  it,  which  it  in  vain  attempted  to  arrest  and 
convert  to  reality.  All  was  obscure,  shadowy,  impalpable. 
Yet  was  he  heard  with  every  testimony  of  reverence  on  the 
part  of  his  audience.  They  evidently  thought  him  original 
and  profound,  in  proportion  as  he  was  incomprehensible. 
I  could  not  help  calling  to  mind  the  remark  of  the  Pal 
my  rene  who  had  just  parted  from  me.  It  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  Plato  himself  laboured  to  be  obscure,  though 
some  affirm  it.  I  would  rather  believe  that  his  great  mind, 
always  searching  after  truth  at  the  greatest  heights  and 
lowest  depths,  often  but  partially  seized  it,  being  defeated 
by  its  very  vastness;  yet,  ambitious  to  reveal  it  to  man 
kind,  he  hesitated  not  to  exhibit  it  in  the  form,  and  with 
the  completeness,  he  best  could.  It  was  necessary,  there 
fore,  that  what  he  but  half  knew  himself,  should  be  im 
perfectly  and  darkly  stated,  and  dimly  comprehended  by 
others.  For  this  reason,  his  writings  are  obscure, —  ob 
scure,  not  because  of  truths  for  their  vastness  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  minds,  but  because  they  abound  in  conceptions 
but  half-formed,  in  inconsequential  reasonings,  in  logic 
overlaid  and  buried  beneath  a  poetic  phraseology.  They 
will  always  be  obscure,  in  spite  of  the  labours  of  the  com 
mentators;  or,  a  commentary  can  make  them  plain,  only 


mm&t&amm 


THE   CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  201 

by  substituting  the  sense  of  the  critic  for  the  no-sense  of 
the  original.  But  Plato  did  not  aim  at  darkness.  And 
could  his  spirit  have  listened  to  the  jargon  which  I  had 
just  heard  proclaimed  as  Platonism,  consisting  of  common 
place  thoughts,  laboriously  tortured  and  involved  till  their 
true  semblance  was  lost,  and  instead  of  them  a  wordy  mist 
—  glowing  indeed,  oftentimes,  with  rainbow-colours  —  was 
presented  to  the  mind  of  the  hearer,  for  him  to  feed  upon, 
he  would  at  the  moment  have  as  heartily  despised,  as  he 
had  formerly  gloried  in,  the  name  and  office  of  philosopher. 
I  waited  not  to  learn  the  results  at  which  this  great 
master  of  wisdom  would  arrive,  but  quickly  turned  away, 
and  advanced  still  farther  toward  the  upper  termination  of 
the  Portico.  The  numbers  of  those  who  frequented  this 
vast  pile  diminished  sensibly  at  this  part  of  it.  Never 
theless,  many  were  still  like  myself  wandering  listlessly 
around.  Quite  at  the  extremity  of  the  building,  I  ob 
served,  however,  a  larger  collection  than  I  had  noticed  be 
fore  ;  and,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  deeply  absorbed  by  what 
they  heard.  I  cared  not  to  make  one  of  them,  having  had 
enough  of  philosophy  for  the  day.  But  as  I  stood  not  far 
from  them,  idly  watching  the  labours  of  the  workmen  who 
were  carrying  up  the  column  of  Aurelian,  —  noting  how  one 
laid  the  stone  which  another  brought,  and  how  another  bore 
along  and  up  the  dizzy  ladders  the  mortar  which  others 
tempered,  and  how  the  larger  masses  of  marble  were  raised 
to  their  places  by  machines  worked  by  elephants,  and  how 
all  went  on  in  exact  order, —  while  I  stood  thus,  the  voice 
of  the  speaker  frequently  fell  upon  my  ear,  and  at  last,  by 
its  peculiarity,  and  especially  by  the  unwonted  earnestness 
of  the  tone,  drew  me  away  to  a  position  nearer  the  listening 
crowd.  By  the  words  which  I  now  distinctly  caught,  I 
discovered  that  it  was  a  Christian  who  was  speaking.  I 
joined  the  outer  circle  of  hearers;  but  the  preacher  —  for 
so  the  Christians  term  those  who  declare  their  doctrines  in 
public  —  was  concealed  from  me  by  a  column.  I  could 
hear  him  distinctly,  and  I  could  see  the  faces,  with  their 
expressions,  of  those  whom  he  addressed.  The  greater  part 


202  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

manifested  the  deepest  interest  and  sympathy  with  him 
who  addressed  them,  but  upon  the  countenances  of  some  sat 
scorn  and  contempt,  ridicule,  doubt,  and  misbelief.  As 
the  voice  fell  upon  my  ear,  in  this  my  nearer  position,  I 
was  startled.  "  Surely, "  I  said,  "  I  have  heard  it  before, 
and  yet  as  surely  I  never  before  heard  a  Christian  preach.  " 
The  thought  of  Probus  flashed  across  my  mind ;  and  sud 
denly  changing  my  place  —  and  by  passing  round  the 
assembly,  coming  in  front  of  the  preacher  —  I  at  once 
recognized  the  pale  and  melancholy  features  of  the  af 
flicted  Christian.  I  was  surprised  and  delighted.  He 
had  convinced  me,  at  the  few  interviews  I  had  had  with 
him,  that  he  was  no  common  man,  and  I  had  determined 
to  obtain  from  him,  if  I  should  ever  meet  him  again,  all 
necessary  knowledge  of  the  Christian  institutions  and  doc 
trines.  Although  I  had  learned  much,  in  the  mean  time, 
from  both  Julia  and  the  Hermit,  still  there  was  much  left 
which  I  felt  I  could  obtain,  probably  in  a  more  exact  man 
ner,  from  Probus.  I  was  rejoiced  to  see  him.  He  was 
evidently  drawing  to  the  close  of  his  address.  The  words 
which  I  first  caught  were  nearly  these :  — 

"  Thus  have  I  declared  to  you,  Palmyrenes,  Eomans,  and 
whoever  are  here,  how  Christianity  seeks  the  happiness  of 
man  by  securing  his  virtue.  Its  object  is  your  greater 
well-being  through  the  truths  it  publishes  and  enforces. 
It  comes  to  your  understandings,  not  to  darken  and  con 
found  them  by  words  without  meaning,  but  to  shed  light 
upon  them  by  a  revelation  of  those  few  sublime  doctrines 
of  which  I  have  now  discoursed  to  you.  Has  the  Greek, 
the  Koman,  or  the  Persian  philosophy  furnished  your  minds 
with  truths  like  these  ?  Has  life  a  great  object,  or  death  an 
issue  of  certainty  and  joy,  under  either  of  those  systems  of 
faith  ?  Systems  of  faith !  I  blush  to  term  them  so.  I  am 
a  Roman,  the  son  of  a  priest  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter. 
Shall  I  reveal  to  you  the  greater  and  the  lesser  mysteries 
of  that  worship?  I  see  by  most  expressive  signs  that  it 
cannot  be  needful.  Why,  then,  if  ye  yourselves  know  and 
despise  the  popular  worship,  why  will  you  not  consider  the 
claims  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  " 


THE   CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  203 

"  I  despise  it  not, "  cried  a  voice  from  the  throng ;  "  I 
honour  it. " 

"  In  every  nation, "  continued  the  preacher,  "  and  among 
all  worshippers,  are  there  those  whom  God  will  accept. 
The  sincere  offering  of  the  heart  will  never  be  refused. 
Socrates,  toiling  and  dying  in  the  cause  of  truth, —  though 
that  truth  in  the  light  of  the  gospel  were  error, —  is  beloved 
of  God.  But  if  God  has  in  these  latter  days  announced 
new  truth,  if  he  has  sent  a  special  messenger  to  teach  it, 
or  if  it  be  asserted  by  persons  of  intelligence  and  apparent 
honesty,  that  he  has,  ought  not  every  sincere  lover  of  truth 
and  of  God,  or  the  gods,  to  inquire  diligently  whether  it  be 
so  or  not  ?  Socrates  would  have  done  so.  Search,  men  of 
Palmyra,  into  the  certainty  of  these  things.  These  many 
years  has  the  word  of  Christ  been  preached  in  your  streets, 
yet  how  few  followers  can  as  yet  be  counted  of  him  who 
came  to  bless  you?  Sleep  no  longer.  Close  not  the  ear 
against  the  parent  voice  of  the  gospel.  Fear  not  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  comes  to  reign  over  aught  but  your  hearts. 
It  asks  no  dominion  over  your  temporal  affairs.  It  cares 
not  for  thrones,  or  the  sword,  or  princely  revenues,  or  seats 
of  honour.  It  would  serve  you,  not  rule  over  you.  And 
the  ministers  of  Christ  are  your  servants  in  spiritual  things, 
seeking  not  yours,  but  you.  " 

"  Paul !  Paul  of  Antioch !  "  shouted  several  voices  at  once. 

"  I  defend  not  Paul  of  Antioch, "  cried  Probus,  noways 
disconcerted.  "  Judge  Christianity,  I  pray  you,  not  by  me, 
or  by  Paul,  but  by  itself.  Because  a  fool  lectures  upon  the 
philosophy  of  Plato,  you  do  not  therefore  condemn  Plato  for 
a  fool.  Because  a  disciple  of  Zeno  lives  luxuriously,  you  do 
not,  for  that,  take  up  a  judgment  against  the  philosopher 
himself.  Paul  of  Samosata,  not  in  his  doctrine,  but  in  his 
life,  is  an  alien,  a  foreigner,  an  adversary,  and  no  friend 
or  servant  of  Jesus.  Listen,  citizens  of  Palmyra,  while  I 
read  to  you  what  the  founder  of  Christianity  himself  says 
touching  this  matter ;  "  and  he  drew  from  beneath  his  robe 
a  small  parchment  roll,  and  turning  to  the  page  he  sought, 
read  in  a  loud  voice  words  of  Jesus  such  as  these :  — 


204  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  '  He  that  is  greatest  among  YOU  shall  be  your  servant. 
Whosoever  shall  exalt  himself,  shall  be  abased,  and  he  that 
shall  humble  himself,  shall  be  exalted. '  This  is  the  doc 
trine  of  Christ.  According  to  Jesus,  '  he  among  his  dis 
ciples  is  greatest,  who  performs  for  others  the  most  essential 
service. '  He  then  turned  to  another  part  of  the  book,  and 
read  a  long,  and,  as  it  struck  me,  beautiful  passage,  in  which 
the  author  of  Christianity  was  represented  as  stooping  and 
washing  the  feet  of  his  disciples,  to  enforce,  in  a  more  lively 
way,  his  doctrine  of  humility  and  philanthropy.  When  he 
had  finished  it,  a  deep  silence  had  fallen  upon  those  who 
listened.  It  was  broken  by  the  voice  of  Probus  once  more, 
saying,  in  low  and  sorrowful  tones  :  "  I  confess  —  with  grief 
and  shame  I  confess  —  that  pride  and  arrogance  and  the  lust 
of  power,  are  already  among  the  ministers  of  Jesus.  They 
are  sundering  themselves  from  their  master,  and  thrusting  a 
sword  into  the  life  of  his  gospel.  And  if  this  faith  of  Christ 
should  ever  —  as  a  prophetic  eye  sees  it  so  sure  to  do  —  fill 
the  throne  of  the  world,  and  sit  in  Caesar's  place,  may  the 
God  who  gave  it,  appear  for  it,  that  it  perish  not  through 
the  encumbering  weight  of  earthly  glory.  Through  tribula 
tion  and  persecution  it  has  held  on  its  way  without  swerv 
ing.  Prosperity  begins  already  to  weaken  and  defile  —  " 

What  more  Probus  would  have  added,  I  know  not ;  but 
at  this  point,  an  unusual  disturbance  arose  in  the  streets. 
Trumpets  sent  forth  their  long  peal,  and  a  troop  of  out 
riders,  as  accompanying  some  great  personage,  rode  rapidly 
along,  followed  by  the  crowd  of  idle  lookers-on.  And  im 
mediately  a  chariot  appeared,  with  a  single  individual 
seated  in  it,  and  who  seemed  to  take  great  pleasure  in  his 
own  state.  No  sooner  had  the  pageant  arrived  over  against 
that  part  of  the  Portico  where  we  stood,  than  one  and  an 
other  of  Probus 's  hearers  exclaimed  :  — 

"  Ha,  Paul !  Paul  of  Antioch !  Behold  a  Christian  ser 
vant  !  "  And  the  whole  throng  turned  away  in  confusion, 
to  watch  the  spectacle. 

u  An  unhappy  commentary  upon  the  doctrine, *  said  a 
Palmyrene  to  me,  as  he  turned  sneeringly  away. 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  205 

"  What  say  you  to  this  ?  "  asked  another  of  Probus  him 
self,  as  he  descended  from  his  rostrum,  and  stood  gazing 
with  the  rest,  but  with  a  burning  cheek  and  down-cast  eye. 

"  I  say, "  he  replied,  "  what  I  have  said  before,  that  yon 
der  bishop,  however  christianized  his  head  may  be,  is  a 
misbeliever  in  his  heart.  He  is  a  true  anti-Christ.  " 

"  I  am  disposed  to  trust  you, "  rejoined  the  other.  "  I 
have  heard  you,  not  without  emotion.  We  have  had  among 
us  many  who  have  declared  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  but  I 
have  heeded  them  not.  It  is  different  with  me  now.  I  am 
desirous  to  know  what  this  doctrine  of  Christ  is.  I  have 
been  impressed  by  what  you  recited  from  the  writings  of 
Jesus.  How,  Christian,  shall  I  apply  myself,  and  where, 
to  learn  more  than  I  know  now  ?  " 

"  If  thou  wilt  learn  of  so  humble  a  teacher  as  I  am  —  who 
yet  know  somewhat  of  what  Christianity  really  is  — come  and 
hear  me  at  the  place  of  Christian  worship  in  the  street  that 
runs  behind  the  great  Persian  inn.  There,  this  evening,  when 
the  sun  is  down,  shall  I  preach  again  the  truth  in  Christ. " 

"  I  shall  not  fail  to  be  there, "  said  the  other,  and  moved 
away. 

"  Nor  shall  I,  Probus, "  said  I,  heartily  saluting  him. 

"  Noble  Piso !  "  he  cried,  his  countenance  suddenly  grow 
ing  bright  as  the  sun,  "  I  am  glad  to  meet  you  at  length. 
And  have  you,  too,  heard  a  Christian  preach?  A  senator 
of  Home  ? " 

"  I  have ;  and  shall  gladly  hear  more.  I  am  not,  how 
ever,  a  Christian,  Probus ;  I  profess  to  be  but  a  seeker  after 
truth,  if  perhaps  it  may  be  found  in  your  faith,  having 
failed  to  discover  it  among  dead  or  living  philosophers. 
I  shall  hear  you  to-night.  " 

After  many  mutual  inquiries  concerning  each  other's 
welfare,  we  separated. 

Upon  returning  to  the  house  of  Gracchus,  and  finding 
myself  again  in  the  company  of  Fausta  and  her  father,  I 
said :  "  I  go  to-night  to  hear  a  Christian  —  the  Christian 
Probus  —  discourse  concerning  the  Christian  doctrine.  Will 
you  accompany  me,  Fausta  ?  * 


206  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Not  now,  Lucius, "  she  replied ;  "  my  head  and  heart  are 
too  full  of  the  interest  and  cares  of  Zenobia,  to  allow  me  to 
think  of  aught  else.  No  other  reason,  I  assure  you,  pre 
vents.  I  have  no  fears  of  the  opinions  of  others  to  hinder 
me.  When  our  public  affairs  are  once  more  in  a  settled 
state,  I  shall  not  be  slow  to  learn  more  of  the  religion  of 
which  you  speak.  Julia's  attachment  to  it,  of  itself,  has 
almost  made  a  convert  of  me  already,  so  full  of  sympathy 
in  all  things  is  a  true  affection.  But  the  heart  is  a  poor 
logician.  It  darts  to  its  object,  overleaping  all  reasons, 
and  may  as  well  rest  in  error  as  truth.  Whatever  the 
purity  of  Julia  and  the  honesty  and  vigour  of  Zenobia 
accept  and  worship,  I  believe  I  should,  without  further 
investigation,  though  they  were  the  fooleries  and  gods  of 
Egypt.  Did  you  succeed  in  your  search  of  the  Arab  ?  " 

"  No ;  but  perhaps  Milo  has.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  was 
soon  diverted  from  that  object,  first  by  the  excitement  I 
found  prevailing  among  the  people  on  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom,  and  afterwards  by  the  spectacles  of  the  Portico, 
and  the  preaching  of  Probus,  whom  I  encountered  there.  " 

In  the  evening,  as  soon  as  the  sun  was  set,  I  wound  my 
way  to  the  Christians'  place  of  worship. 

It  was  in  a  part  of  the  city  remote  and  obscure,  indicat 
ing  very  plainly  that  whatever  Christianity  may  be  des 
tined  to  accomplish  in  this  city,  it  has  done  little  as  yet. 
Indeed,  I  do  not  as  yet  perceive  what  principle  of  strength 
or  power  it  possesses,  sufficient  to  force  its  way  through  the 
world,  and  into  the  hearts  of  men.  It  allows  not  the  use 
of  the  sword ;  it  resorts  not  to  the  civil  arm ;  it  is  devoid 
of  all  that  should  win  upon  the  senses  of  the  multitude, 
being,  beyond  all  other  forms  of  faith,  remarkable  for  its 
simplicity,  for  its  spiritual  and  intellectual  character. 
Moreover,  it  is  stern  and  uncompromising  in  its  morality, 
requiring  the  strictest  purity  of  life,  and  making  virtue  to 
consist  not  in  the  outward  act,  but  in  the  secret  motive 
which  prompts  the  act.  It  is  at  open  and  unintermitting 
war  with  all  the  vain  and  vicious  inclinations  of  the  heart. 
It  insists  upon  an  undivided  sovereignty  over  the  whole 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  207 

character  and  life  of  the  individual.  And  in  return  for 
such  surrender,  it  bestows  no  other  reward  than  an  inward 
consciousness  of  right  action,  and  of  the  approbation  of  God, 
with  the  hope  of  immortality.  It  seems  thus  to  have  man's 
whole  nature,  and  all  the  institutions  of  the  world  espe 
cially  of  other  existing  religions,  to  contend  with.  If  it 
prevail  against  such  odds,  and  with  such  means  as  it  alone 
employs,  it  surely  will  carry  along  with  it  its  own  demon 
stration  of  its  divinity.  But  how  it  shall  have  power  to 
achieve  such  conquests,  I  now  cannot  see,  nor  conjecture. 

Arriving  at  the  place  designated  by  Probus,  I  found  a 
low  building  of  stone,  which  seemed  to  have  been  diverted 
from  former  uses  of  a  different  kind,  to  serve  its  present 
purpose  as  a  temple  of  religious  worship.  Passing  through 
a  door  of  height  scarce  sufficient  to  admit  a  person  of  ordi 
nary  stature,  I  reached  a  vestibule,  from  which,  by  a  de 
scent  of  a  few  steps,  I  entered  a  large  circular  apartment, 
low  but  not  inelegant,  with  a  vaulted  ceiling  supported  by 
chaste  Ionic  columns.  The  assembly  was  already  seated, 
but  the  worship  not  begun.  The  service  consisted  of 
prayers  to  God,  offered  in  the  name  of  Christ,  of  reading 
a  portion  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  Christians,  of  preach 
ing,  of  music  sung  to  religious  words,  and  voluntary  offer 
ings  of  money  or  other  gifts,  for  the  poor. 

I  cannot  doubt  that  you  are  repelled,  my  Curtius,  by  this 
account  of  a  worship  of  such  simplicity  as  to  amount 
almost  to  poverty.  But  I  must  tell  you  that  never  have 
I  been  so  overwhelmed  by  emotions  of  the  noblest  kind  as 
when  sitting  in  the  midst  of  these  despised  Nazarenes,  and 
joining  in  their  devotions ;  for  to  sit  neuter  in  such  a  scene, 
it  was  not  in  my  nature  to  do,  nor  would  it  have  been  in 
yours,  much  as  you  affect  to  despise  this  "  superstitious 
race. "  This  was  indeed  worship.  It  was  a  true  com 
munion  of  the  creature  with  the  Creator.  Never  before 
had  I  heard  a  prayer.  How  different  from  the  loud  and 
declamatory  harangues  of  our  priests !  The  full  and  rich 
tones  of  the  voice  of  Probus,  expressive  of  deepest  reverence 
of  the  Being  he  addressed,  and  of  profoundest  humility  on 


208  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  part  of  the  worshipper,  seeming,  too,  as  if  uttered  in  n^> 
part  by  the  usual  organs  of  speech,  but  as  if  pronounced  by 
the  very  heart  itself,  fell  upon  the  charmed  ear  like  notes 
from  another  world.  There  was  a  new  and  strange  union, 
both  in  the  manner  of  the  Christian,  and  in  the  sentiments 
he  expressed,  of  an  awe  such  as  I  never  before  witnessed  in 
man  toward  the  gods,  and  a  familiarity  and  child-like 
confidence  that  made  me  feel  as  if  the  God  to  whom  he 
prayed  was  a  father  and  a  friend,  in  a  much  higher  sense 
than  we  are  accustomed  to  regard  the  Creator  of  the  uni 
verse.  It  was  a  child  soliciting  mercies  from  a  kind  and 
considerate  parent, — conscious  of  much  frailty  and  ill  de 
sert,  but  relying,  too,  with  a  perfect  trust,  both  upon  the 
equity  and  benignity  of  the  God  of  his  faith.  I  received  an 
impression,  too,  from  the  quiet  and  breathless  silence  of  the 
apartment,  from  the  low  and  but  just  audible  voice  of  the 
preacher,  of  the  near  neighbourhood  of  gods  and  men,  of 
the  universal  presence  of  the  infinite  spirit  of  the  Deity, 
which  certainly  I  had  never  received  before.  I  could  hardly 
divest  myself  of  the  feeling  that  the  God  addressed  was,  in 
truth,  in  the  midst  of  the  temple;  and  I  found  my  eye 
turning  to  the  ceiling,  as  if  there  must  be  some  visible 
manifestation  of  his  presence.  I  wish  you  could  have  been 
there.  I  am  sure  that  after  witnessing  such  devotions, 
contempt  or  ridicule  would  be  the  last  emotions  you  would 
ever  entertain  toward  this  people.  Neither  could  you  any 
longer  apply  to  them  the  terms  fanatic,  enthusiast,  or  su 
perstitious.  You  would  have  seen  a  calmness,  a  sobriety, 
a  decency,  so  remarkable;  you  would  have  heard  senti 
ments  so  rational,  so  instructive,  so  exalted,  that  you  would 
have  felt  your  prejudices  breaking  away  and  disappearing 
without  any  volition  or  act  of  your  own.  Nay,  against 
your  will,  they  would  have  fallen.  And  nothing  would 
have  been  left  but  the  naked  question,  not  is  this  faith 
beautiful  and  worthy,  but  is  this  religion  true  or  false  ? 

When  the  worship  had  been  begun  by  prayer  to  God,  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  then  one  of  the  officiating  priests  opened 
the  book  of  the  Christians  —  the  Gospels  —  and  read  from  the 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  209 

Greek  in  which  they  are  written  —  changing  it  into  Pal- 
myrene  dialect,  as  he  read  —  divers  passages,  some  re 
lating  to  the  life  of  Jesus,  and  others  being  extracts  of 
letters  written  by  apostles  of  his  to  individuals  or  churches, 
to  which  I  listened  with  attention  and  pleasure.  When 
this  was  over,  Probus  rose,  standing  upon  a  low  platform, 
like  the  rostrums  from  which  our  lawyers  plead,  and  first 
reading  a  sentence  from  the  sayings  of  Paul  an  apostle  of 
Jesus,  of  which  this  was  the  substance,  "  Jesus  came  into 
the  world,  bringing  life  and  immortality  to  light, "  he  de 
livered,  with  a  most  winning  and  persuasive  beauty,  a 
discourse,  or  oration,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  show 
that  Jesus  was  sent  into  the  world  to  bring  to  light  or  make 
plain  the  true  character  and  end  of  the  life  on  earth,  and 
also  the  reality  and  true  nature  of  a  future  existence.  In 
doing  this,  he  exposed  —  but  in  a  manner  so  full  of  the 
most  earnest  humanity  that  no  one  could  be  offended  —  the 
errors  of  many  of  the  philosophers  concerning  a  happy  life, 
and  compared,  with  the  greatest  force,  their  requisitions 
with  those  of  the  gospel,  as  he  termed  his  religion, —  show 
ing  what  unworthy  and  inadequate  conceptions  had  pre 
vailed  as  to  what  constitutes  a  man  truly  great  and  good 
and  happy.  Then  he  went  on  to  show  that  it  was  such 
a  life  only  as  he  had  described  that  could  make  a  being 
like  man  worthy  of  immortality ;  that  although  Jesus  had 
proved  the  reality  of  a  future  and  immortal  existence,  yet 
he  had,  with  even  more  importunity  and  earnestness  and 
frequency,  laid  down  his  precepts  touching  a  virtuous  life 
on  earth.  He  finally  went  into  the  Christian  argument  in 
proof  of  a  future  existence,  and  exhorted  those  who  heard 
him,  and  who  desired  to  inhabit  the  Christian's  heaven,  to 
live  the  life  which  Christ  had  brought  to  light,  and  himself 
had  exemplified  on  earth,  labouring  to  impress  their  minds 
with  the  fact  that  it  was  a  superior  goodness  which  made 
Jesus  what  he  was,  and  that  it  must  be  by  a  similar  good 
ness  that  his  followers  could  fit  themselves  for  the  im 
mortality  he  had  revealed.  All  this  was  with  frequent 
reference  to  existing  opinions  and  practices,  and  with 

14 


210  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

large  illustrations  drawn  from  ancient  and  modern  reli 
gious  history. 

What  struck  me  most,  after  having  listened  to  the  dis 
course  of  Probus  to  the  end,  was  the  practical  aim  and 
character  of  the  religion  he  preached.  It  was  no  fanciful 
speculation  or  airy  dream.  It  was  not  a  plaything  of  the 
imagination  he  had  been  holding  up  to  our  contemplation, 
but  a  series  of  truths  and  doctrines  bearing  with  eminent 
directness,  and  with  a  perfect  adaptation,  upon  human  life, 
the  effect  and  issue  of  which,  widely  and  cordially  received, 
must  be  to  give  birth  to  a  condition  of  humanity  not  now 
anywhere  to  be  found  on  the  earth.  I  was  startled  by  no 
confounding  and  overwhelming  mysteries  :  neither  my  faith 
nor  my  reason  was  burdened  or  offended ;  but  I  was  shown, 
as  by  a  light  from  heaven,  how  truly  the  path  which  leads 
to  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  a  future  existence,  coin 
cides  with  that  which  conducts  to  the  best  happiness  of 
earth.  It  was  a  religion  addressed  to  the  reason  and  the 
affections ;  and  evidence  enough  was  afforded  in  the  repre 
sentations  given  of  its  more  important  truths,  that  it  was 
furnished  with  ample  power  to  convince  and  exalt  the 
reason,  to  satify  and  fill  the  affections.  No  sooner  shall  I 
have  returned  to  the  leisure  of  my  home,  to  my  study  and 
my  books,  than  I  shall  seriously  undertake  an  examination 
of  the  Christian  argument.  It  surely  becomes  those  who 
fill  the  place  in  the  social  state  which  I  do,  to  make  up  an 
intelligent  judgment  upon  questions  like  this,  so  that  I 
may  stand  prepared  to  defend  it,  and  urge  it  upon  my  coun 
trymen,  if  I  am  convinced  of  its  truth,  and  of  its  advantage 
to  my  country,  or  assail  and  oppose  it,  if  I  shall  determine 
it  to  be  what  it  is  so  frequently  termed,  a  pernicious  and 
hateful  superstition. 

When  the  discourse  was  ended,  of  the  power  and  various 
beauty  of  which  I  cannot  pretend  properly  to  acquaint  you, 
another  prayer,  longer  and  more  general,  was  offered,  to 
parts  of  which  there  were  responses  by  the  hearers.  Then, 
as  a  regular  part  of  the  service,  voluntary  offerings  and 
gifts  were  made  by  those  present  for  the  poor.  More  than 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  211 

once,  as  a  part  of  the  worship,  hymns  were  sung  to  some 
plain  and  simple  air,  in  which  all  the  assembly  joined. 
Sometimes,  to  the  services  which  I  witnessed,  Probus  in 
formed  me  there  is  added  a  further  ceremony,  called  the 
"  Lord's  supper, "  being  a  social  service,  during  which  bread 
and  wine  are  partaken  of,  in  memory  of  Jesus  Christ.  This 
was  the  occasion,  in  former  times,  of  heavy  charges  against 
the  Christians,  of  rioting  and  intemperance,  and  even  of 
more  serious  crimes.  But  Probus  assures  me  that  they  were 
even  then  utterly  groundless,  and  that  now,  nothing  can  be 
more  blameless  than  this  simple  spiritual  repast. 

The  worship  being  ended,  Probus  having  descended  from 
his  seat,  I  accosted  him,  giving  him  what  I  am  certain  were 
very  sincere  thanks  for  the  information  I  had  obtained  from 
his  oration  concerning  the  primary  articles  of  the  Christian 
faith. 

"  It  has  been, "  said  he,  in  reply,  "  with  utmost  satisfac 
tion  that  I  beheld  a  person  of  your  rank  and  intelligence 
among  my  hearers.  The  change  of  the  popular  belief 
throughout  the  Eoman  empire,  which  must  come,  will  be 
a  less  tumultuous  one,  in  proportion  as  we  can  obtain  even 
so  much  as  a  hearing  from  those  who  sit  at  the  head  of 
society  in  rank  and  intelligence.  Let  me  make  a  sincere 
convert  of  a  Roman  emperor,  and  in  a  few  years  the  temples 
of  Paganism  would  lie  even  with  the  ground.  Believe  me, 
Christianity  has  penetrated  deeper  and  farther  than  you  in 
the  seats  of  power  dream  of.  While  you  are  satisfied  with 
things  as  they  are,  and  are  content  to  live  on  and  enjoy  the 
leisure  and  honours  the  gods  crown  you  with,  the  classes 
below  you,  less  absorbed  by  the  things  of  the  world  —  be 
cause  perhaps  having  fewer  of  them  —  give  their  thoughts 
to  religion  and  the  prospects  which  it  holds  out  of  a  happier 
existence  after  the  present.  Having  little  here,  they  are  less 
tied  to  the  world  than  others,  and  more  solicitous  concerning 
the  more  and  the  better  of  which  Christianity  speaks !  " 

"  I  am  not  insensible, "  I  replied,  "  to  the  truth  of  what  you 
say.  The  cruelties,  moreover,  exercised  by  the  emperors 
toward  the  Christians,  the  countless  examples  of  those  who 


212  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

have  died  in  torments  for  the  truth  of  this  religion,  have 
drawn  largely  and  deeply  upon  the  sympathy  of  the  general 
heart,  and  disposed  it  favourably  toward  belief.  In  Kome, 
surrounded  by  ancient  associations,  embosomed  in  a  family 
remarkable  for  its  attachment  to  the  ancient  order  of  things, 
—  friends  of  power,  of  letters,  and  philosophy, —  I  hardly 
was  conscious  of  the  existence  of  such  a  thing  as  Christian 
ity.  The  name  was  never  heard  where  I  moved.  Portia, 
my  noble  mother,  with  a  heart  beating  warm  for  everything 
human,  instinctively  religious  beyond  any  whom  I  have 
ever  seen  or  known  of  the  Christian  or  any  other  faith, 
living  but  to  increase  the  happiness  of  all  around  her,  was 
yet  —  shall  I  say  it?  —  a  bigot  to  the  institutions  of  her 
country.  The  government  and  the  religion  under  which 
all  the  Pisos  had  lived  and  flourished,  which  had  protected 
the  rights  and  nursed  the  virtues  of  her  great  husband  and 
his  family,  were  good  enough  for  her,  for  her  children,  and 
for  all.  Her  ear  was  closed  against  the  sound  of  Chris 
tianity,  as  naturally  as  an  adder's  against  all  sound.  She 
could  not,  and  never  did  hear  it.  From  her  I  received  my 
principles  and  first  impressions.  Not  even  the  history  nor 
so  much  as  a  word  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Christians  ever 
fell  on  my  ear.  I  grew  up  in  all  things  a  Piso,  the  true 
child  of  my  mother  in  all  save  her  divine  virtues.  And 
it  was  not  till  a  few  years  since  I  broke  loose  from  domestic 
and  Roman  life,  and  travelled  to  Greece  and  Egypt,  and 
now  to  the  East,  that  I  became  practically  aware  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  people  as  the  Christians ;  and  my  own 
is,  I  suppose,  but  a  specimen  of  the  history  of  my  order. 
I  now  perceive  that  while  we  have  slept,  truth  has  been 
advancing  its  posts  till  the  very  citadel  of  the  world  is 
about  to  be  scaled.  The  leaven  of  Christianity  is  cast  into 
the  lump,  and  will  work  its  necessary  end.  It  now,  I  ap 
prehend,  will  matter  but  little  what  part  the  noble  and  the 
learned  shall  take,  or  even  the  men  in  power.  The  people 
have  taken  theirs,  and  the  rest  must  follow,  at  least  sub 
mit.  Do  I  over-estimate  the  inroads  of  the  religion  upon 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  world  ?  " 


THE  CHRISTIANS  OF  PALMYRA.  213 

a  I  am  persuaded  you  do  not, "  replied  the  Christian. 
"  Give  me,  as  I  said  before,  one  Eoman  emperor  for  a  con 
vert,  and  I  will  ensure  the  immediate  and  final  triumph  of 
Christianity.  But  in  the  mean  time,  another  Nero,  another 
Domitian,  another  Decius,  may  arise,  and  the  bloody  acts 
of  other  persecutions  stain  the  annals  of  our  guilty  empire.  " 

"  The  gods  forbid !  "  said  I ;  "  yet  who  shall  say  it  may 
not  be  ?  Much  as  I  honour  Aurelian  for  his  many  virtues,  I 
feel  not  sure  that  in  the  right  hands  he  might  not  be  roused 
to  as  dark  deeds  as  any  before  him, —  darker  they  would 
be,  inasmuch  as  his  nature  for  sternness  and  severity  has 
not,  I  think,  been  equalled.  If  the  mild  and  just  Valerian 
could  be  so  wrought  upon  by  the  malignant  Macrianus, 
what  security  have  we  in  the  case  of  Aurelian  ?  He  is 
naturally  superstitious. " 

"  Oh,  that  in  Aurelian, "  said  the  Christian,  "  were  lodged 
the  woman's  heart  of  Zenobia!  —  we  then  could  trust  the 
morrow  as  well  as  enjoy  to-day.  Here  no  laws  seal  the  lips 
of  the  Christian ;  he  may  tell  his  tale  to  as  many  as  choose 
to  hear.  I  learn,  since  my  arrival,  that  the  Princess  Julia 
is  favourably  inclined  toward  the  Christian  cause.  Dost 
thou  know  what  the  truth  may  be  ?  " 

"  it  is  certain  that  she  admires  greatly  the  character  and 
the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and,  I  should  think,  believes ;  but 
she  does  not  as  yet  openly  confess  herself  a  follower  of  the 
Nazarene.  She  is  perhaps  as  much  a  Christian  as  Zenobia 
is  a  Jewess. " 

"  I  may  well  rejoice  in  that, "  replied  the  Christian ; 
"  yes,  and  do.  " 

The  lights  of  the  apartment  were  now  extinguished,  and 
we  parted. 

If  I  am  ever  again  in  Konie,  my  Curtius,  it  shall  be  my 
care  to  bring  to  your  acquaintance  and  Lucilia's  the  Chris 
tian  Probus.  Farewell ! 


214  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTER  X. 

PALMYRA  AND   ROME. 

AN  EVENING  AT  THE  PALACE.  —  THE  KOMAN  QUESTION.  —  OTHO'S 
COUNSELS.  —  ZABDAS.  —  QUEENLY  RASHNESS. 

AS  I  returned  from  the  worship  of  the  Christians  to  the 
house  of  Gracchus,  my  thoughts  wandered  from  the 
subjects  which  had  just  occupied  my  mind  to  the  condition 
of  the  country,  and  the  prospect,  now  growing  more  and 
more  portentous,  of  an  immediate  rupture  with  Rome.  On 
my  way  I  passed  through  streets  of  more  than  Roman  mag 
nificence,  exhibiting  all  the  signs  of  wealth,  taste,  refine 
ment,  and  luxury.  The  happy,  light-hearted  populace  were 
moving  through  them,  enjoying  at  their  leisure  the  calm 
beauty  of  the  evening,  or  hastening  to  or  from  some  place 
of  festivity.  The  earnest  tone  of  conversation,  the  loud 
laugh,  the  witty  retort,  the  merry  jest,  fell  upon  my  ear 
from  one  and  another  as  I  passed  along.  From  the  win 
dows  of  the  palaces  of  the  merchants  and  nobles  the  rays 
of  innumerable  lights  streamed  across  my  path,  giving  to 
the  streets  almost  the  brilliancy  of  day ;  and  the  sound  of 
music,  either  of  martial  instruments,  or  of  the  harp  accom 
panied  by  the  voice,  at  every  turn  arrested  my  attention, 
and  made  me  pause  to  listen. 

A  deep  melancholy  overcame  me.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
the  days  of  this  people  were  numbered,  and  that  the  gods, 
intending  their  ruin,  had  first  made  them  mad.  Their 
gaiety  appeared  to  me  no  other  than  madness.  They  were 
like  the  gladiators  of  our  circuses,  who,  doomed  to  death, 
pass  the  last  days  of  life  in  a  delirium  of  forced  and  frantic 
joy.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  I  could  not  but  suppose 
utterly  insensible  to  the  dangers  which  impend,  or  igno- 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  215 

rant  of  them;  but  more  I  believe  are  cheerful,  and  even 
gay,  through  a  mad  contempt  of  them.  They  look  back 
upon  their  long  and  uninterrupted  prosperity;  they  call 
to  mind  their  late  glorious  achievements  under  Odenatus 
and  their  queen;  they  think  of  the  wide  extent  of  their 
empire ;  they  remember  that  Longinus  is  their  minister, 
and  Zenobia  still  their  queen, —  and  give  their  fears  to  the 
winds.  A  contest  with  Eome  they  approach  as  they  would 
the  games  of  the  amphitheatre. 

The  situation  of  their  city,  defended  as  it  is  by  the  wide- 
stretching  deserts,  is  indeed  enough  of  itself  to  inspire  the 
people  with  a  belief  that  it  is  impregnable.  It  requires  an 
effort,  I  am  aware,  to  admit  the  likelihood  of  an  army  from 
the  far  West  first  overcoming  the  dangers  of  the  desert,  and 
then  levelling  the  walls  of  the  city,  which  seem  more  like 
ramparts  of  Nature's  making,  so  massy  are  they,  than  any 
work  of  man.  And  the  Palmyrenes  have  certainly  also 
some  excuse  in  the  wretched  management  of  our  generals, 
ever  since  the  expedition  of  Valerian,  and  in  the  brilliancy 
of  their  own  achievements,  for  thinking  well  of  themselves, 
and  anticipating,  without  much  apprehension  for  the  issue, 
a  war  with  us.  But  these  and  the  like  apologies,  however 
they  may  serve  for  the  common  people,  surely  are  of  no  force 
in  their  application  to  the  intelligent,  and  such  as  fill  the 
high  places  of  the  kingdom.  They  know  that  although, 
upon  some  mere  question  of  honour  or  of  boundary,  it 
might  be  very  proper  and  politic  to  fight  a  single  battle 
rather  than  tamely  submit  to  an  encroachment,  it  is  quite 
another  thing  when  the  only  aim  of  the  war  is  to  see  which 
is  the  stronger  of  the  two, —  which  is  to  be  master.  This 
last,  what  is  it  but  madness, — the  madness  of  pride  and 
ambition  in  the  queen,  in  the  people  the  madness  of  a 
love  and  a  devotion  to  her  unparalleled  since  the  world 
began  ?  A  blindness  as  of  death  has  seized  them  all. 

Thinking  of  these  things,  and  full  of  saddest  forebodings 
as  to  the  fate  of  this  most  interesting  and  polished  people, 
I  reached  the  gate  of  the  palace  of  Gracchus.  The  inmates, 
Gracchus  and  Fausta,  I  learned  from  Milo  were  at  the 


216  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

palace  of  the  queen,  whither  I  was  instructed  by  them  to 
resort  at  the  request  of  Zenobia  herself.  The  chariot  of 
my  host  soon  bore  me  there.  It  was  with  pleasure  that  I 
greeted  this  unexpected  good  fortune.  I  had  not  even  seen 
the  queen  since  the  day  passed  at  her  villa,  and  I  was  not 
a  little  desirous,  before  the  ambassadors  should  receive 
their  final  answer,  to  have  one  more  opportunity  of  con 
versing  with  her. 

The  moment  I  entered  the  apartment  where  the  queen 
was  with  her  guests,  I  perceived  that  all  state  was  laid 
aside,  and  that  we  were  to  enjoy  each  other  with  the  same 
social  ease  as  when  in  the  country,  or,  as  on  that  first 
evening  in  the  gardens  of  the  palace.  There  was  on  this 
occasion  no  prostration,  and  no  slave  crouched  at  her  feet ; 
and  all  the  various  Persian  ceremonial,  in  which  this  proud 
woman  so  delights,  was  dispensed  with.  The  room  in 
which  we  met  was  vast,  and  opening  on  two  of  its  sides 
upon  those  lofty  Corinthian  porticos  which  add  so  greatly 
to  the  magnificence  of  this  palace.  Light  was  so  dispersed 
as  to  shed  a  soft  and  moon-like  radiance,  which,  without 
dazzling,  perfectly  revealed  every  person  and  object,  even 
to  the  minutest  beauties  of  the  paintings  upon  the  walls, 
or  the  statuary  that  offered  to  the  eye  the  master-pieces  of 
ancient  and  modern  sculpture.  The  company  was  scat 
tered;  some  being  seated  together  in  conversation,  others 
observing  the  works  of  art,  others  pacing  the  marble  floors 
of  the  porticos,  their  forms  crossing  and  recrossing  the 
ample  arched  door-ways  which  opened  upon  them. 

"  We  feared,  *  said  the  queen,  advancing  toward  me  as  I 
entered,  "  that  we  were  not  to  be  so  happy  as  to  see  you. 
My  other  friends  have  already  passed  a  precious  hour  with 
me.  But  every  sacrifice  to  the  affections,  be  it  ever  so 
slight,  is  a  virtue,  and  therefore  you  are  still  an  object  of 
praise,  rather  than  of  censure.  " 

I  said,  in  reply,  that  an  affair  of  consequence  had  de 
tained  me,  or  I  should  have  been  earlier  at  the  house  of 
Gracchus,  so  as  to  have  accompanied  Fausta. 

Fausta,  who  had  been  sitting  with  the  queen,  now  came 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  217 

forward,  Julia  leaning  on  her  arm,  and  said,  "  And  what 
do  you  imagine  to  be  the  affair  of  consequence  that  has 
deprived  us  of  Piso's  company  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell,  indeed, "  replied  Zenobia. 

"  Julia,  at  least, "  said  Fausta,  "  will  applaud  him,  when 
she  hears  that  he  has  just  come  from  an  assembly  of  Chris 
tians.  May  I  ask,  Lucius,  what  new  truth  you  have 
learned  with  which  to  enlighten  us  ?  But  your  counte 
nance  tells  me  I  must  not  jest.  There  —  let  me  smooth 
that  brow,  and  make  my  peace.  But,  in  seriousness,  I 
hope  your  Mediterranean  friend  rewarded  you  for  the  hour 
you  have  given  him,  and  deprived  us  of  ? " 

"  I  wish, "  I  could  not  but  reply,  "  that  but  one  out  of 
every  thousand  hours  of  my  life  had  been  as  well  rewarded, 
and  it  would  not  have  been  so  worthless.  The  princess 
may  believe  me  when  I  say  that  not  even  the  Bishop  of 
Antioch  could  have  done  better  justice  to  the  Christian 
argument.  I  have  heard  this  evening  a  Christian  of  the 
name  of  Probus,  whose  history  I  related  —  and  which  you 
may  remember  —  at  the  tables  within  a  few  days  after  my 
arrival  in  Palmyra.  He  is  in  opinion  a  follower  of  Paul, 
so  I  am  informed,  though  not  —  you,  Julia,  will  be  glad  to 
learn  it  —  in  his  manner  of  life.  What  the  differences  are 
which  separate  the  Christians  from  one  another  in  their 
belief,  I  know  not.  I  only  know  that  truth  cannot  take 
a  more  winning  shape  than  that  in  which  it  came  from  the 
lips  of  Probus,  and  it  was  largely  supported  by  the  words 
of  the  founder  of  the  religion.  I  think  you  may  justly 
congratulate  your  city  and  your  subjects,"  I  continued, 
addressing  Zenobia,  "  upon  the  labours  and  teaching  of  a 
man  like  Probus.  The  sentiments  which  he  utters  are  such 
as  must  tend  to  the  strength  of  any  government  which  relies 
for  its  support,  in  any  sense,  upon  the  social  and  personal 
virtues  of  the  people.  In  implanting  the  virtues  of  justice, 
temperance,  and  piety,  and  in  binding  each  heart  to  every 
other  by  the  bonds  of  a  love  which  this  religion  makes  itself 
almost  to  consist  in,  it  does  all  that  either  philosophy  or 
religion  can  do  for  the  harmony  and  order  of  society,  the 
safety  of  governments,  and  the  peace  of  the  world. " 


218  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  You  speak  with  the  earnestness  of  a  deep  persuasion, 
Eoman, "  replied  the  queen,  "  and  I  shall  not  forget  the 
name  and  office  of  the  person  whom  you  have  now  named 
to  me.  I  hear  with  pleasure  of  the  arrival  of  any  teacher 
of  truth  in  my  kingdom.  I  have  derived  so  much  myself 
from  the  influences  of  letters  and  philosophy  that  it  is  no 
far-off  conclusion  for  me  to  arrive  at,  that  my  people  must 
be  proportionally  benefited  by  an  easy  access  to  the  same 
life-giving  fountains.  Whatever  helps  to  quicken  thought, 
and  create  or  confirm  habits  of  reflection,  is  so  much  direct 
service  to  the  cause  of  humanity.  I  truly  believe  that  there 
is  no  obstacle  but  ignorance  to  prevent  the  world  from 
attaining  a  felicity  and  a  virtue  such  as  we  now  hardly 
dream  of,  —  ignorance  respecting  the  first  principles  of 
philosophy  and  religion.  Knowledge  is  not  less  essential 
to  the  increase  and  elevation  of  virtue,  than  it  is  to  the 
further  advances  of  truth,  and  the  detection  of  error.  Prove 
the  truth,  and  mankind  will  always  prefer  it  to  falsehood. 
So,  too,  demonstrate  wherein  goodness  consists,  and  the  road 
that  leads  to  it,  and  mankind  will  prefer  it  to  vice.  Vice 
is  a  mistake,  as  well  as  a  fault ;  I  do  not  say  as  often.  I 
fear  that  the  Christian  teachers  are  occupying  themselves 
and  their  disciples  too  much  about  mere  speculative  and 
fanciful  distinctions,  while  they  give  too  little  heed  to  that 
which  alone  is  of  any  consequence, — virtue.  In  this,  Lon- 
ginus, "  turning  toward  the  philosopher,  who  had  now 
joined  us,  "  I  think  they  affect  to  imitate  the  commentators 
and  living  expositors  of  the  great  Plato.  I  have  heard  from 
Paul  of  Samosata  accounts  of  differences  among  Christians, 
where  the  points  were  quite  too  subtle  for  my  understand 
ing  to  appreciate.  They  reminded  me  of  the  refinements  of 
some  of  the  young  adventurers  from  Athens,  who  occasion 
ally  have  resorted  here  for  the  purpose  of  elucidating  the 
doctrines  of  your  great  master, —  pseudo-philosophers  and 
tyros,  I  perceive  you  are  waiting  to  term  them.  Is  it  so 
that  you  denominate  Polemo  the  Athenian,  who,  as  I  learn, 
is  now  here  with  the  benevolent  design  of  enlightening  my 
people  ? " 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  219 

"  He  is  a  man, "  replied  Longinus,  "  hardly  worthy  to  be 
named  in  this  connection  and  this  presence  at  all.  I  have 
neither  met  him  nor  heard  him,  nor  do  I  desire  to  do  so. 
It  is  through  the  mischievous  intermeddling  of  such  as 
he  that  the  honourable  name  and  office  of  philosopher  are 
brought  into  contempt.  It  requires  more  intellect  than 
ever  enlightens  the  soul  of  Polemo  to  comprehend  the  lofty 
truth  of  Plato.  I  trust  that  when  it  has  been  my  pleasure 
to  unfold  the  sense  of  that  great  teacher,  it  has  not  been 
found  to  be  either  unprofitable  or  unintelligible  ?  " 

Zenobia  smiled,  and  said,  "  I  must  confess  that  at  times, 
as  I  have  ever  frankly  stated,  my  mind  has  been  a  little 
tasked.  There  has  been  but  an  approach  to  a  perfect  idea. 
But  I  do  not  say  that  a  perfect  conception  has  not  been 
presented.  So  that  when  this  has  happened,  Longinus  be 
ing  the  teacher,  and  Zenobia  and  Julia  the  pupils,  I  cannot 
doubt  that  when  the  task  is  intrusted  to  less  cultivated 
minds  —  the  task  both  of  teaching  and  learning  —  it  must 
frequently  end  in  what  it  might  be  rash  to  term  light  or 
knowledge. " 

"  I  grieve,  O  queen, "  replied  Longinus,  smiling  in  his 
turn,  "  that  both  you  and  the  princess  should  have  possessed 
so  little  affinity  for  the  soul-purifying  and  elevating  doc 
trines  of  the  immortal  Plato, —  that  you,  queen,  should  have 
even  preferred  the  dark  annals  of  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 
history  and  politics,  and  the  Greek  learning;  and  you, 
princess,  should  have  fixed  your  affections  upon  this,  not 
new-found  philosophy,  but  new-invented  religion,  of  the 
Christians.  I  still  anticipate  the  happiness  to  lead  you  both 
into  the  groves  of  the  Academy,  and  detain  you  there,  where 
and  where  only  are  seats  that  well  become  you. " 

"  But  is  it  not, "  I  ventured  here  to  suggest,  "  some  objec 
tion  to  the  philosophy  of  Plato  as  the  guide  of  life,  that  it 
requires  minds  of  the  very  highest  order  to  receive  it? 
Philosophy,  methinks,  should  be  something  of  such  po 
tency,  yet  at  the  same  time  of  such  simplicity,  that  it 
should  not  so  much  require  a  lofty  and  elevated  intellect 
to  admit  it,  as  tend,  being  received  readily  and  easily  by 


220  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

minds  of  an  humble  order,  to  raise  them  up  to  itself.  Now 
this,  so  far  as  I  understand  it,  is  the  character  of  the  Chris 
tian  philosophy, —  for  philosophy  I  must  think  it  deserv 
edly  called.  It  is  admitted  into  the  minds  with  ease.  But 
once  being  there,  its  operation  is  continually  to  exalt  and 
refine  it,  leading  it  upwards  forever  to  some  higher  point  than 
it  has  hitherto  arrived  at.  I  do  not  deny  an  elevating 
power  to  your  philosophy,  when  once  an  inmate  of  the  soul ; 
I  only  assert  the  difficulty  of  receiving  it  on  the  part  of 
the  common  mind. " 

"  And  the  common  mind  has  nothing  to  do, "  replied  the 
Greek,  "  with  Plato  or  his  wisdom.  They  are  for  minds  of 
a  higher  order.  Why  should  the  man  who  makes  my  san 
dals  and  my  cloak  be  at  the  same  time  a  philosopher? 
Would  he  be  the  happier?  In  my  opinion,  it  would  but 
increase  his  discontent.  Every  stitch  that  he  set  would  be 
accompanied  by  the  reflection,  '  What  a  poor  employment 
is  this  for  a  soul  like  mine,  imbued  with  the  best  wisdom 
of  Greece ; '  and  if  this  did  not  make  him  miserable  at  his 
task,  it  would  make  him  contemptible  when  he  should  for 
sake  it  to  do  the  work  of  some  Polemo,  who,  it  may  safely 
be  presumed,  has  made  some  such  exchange  of  occupation. 
No.  Philosophy  is  not  for  the  many,  but  the  few.  Parts 
there  are  of  it  which  may  descend  and  become  a  common 
inheritance.  Other  parts  there  are,  and  it  is  of  these  I  speak, 
which  may  not. " 

"  Therein, "  I  rejoined,  "  I  discern  its  inferiority  to  Chris 
tianity,  which  appeals  to  all,  and  is  suited  to  all,  to  lowest 
as  well  as  highest,  to  highest  as  well  as  lowest. " 

"  But  I  remember  to  have  been  told, "  said  the  Greek,  in 
reply,  "  that  Christian  teachers,  too,  have  their  mysteries, — 
their  doctrines  for  the  common  people,  and  their  refine 
ments  for  the  initiated. " 

"  I  have  heard  not  of  it, "  I  answered ;  "  if  it  be  so,  I 
should  lament  it.  It  would  detract  from  its  value  greatly 
in  my  judgment.  * 

"  Where  your  information  fails,  Piso,  mine  perhaps  may 
serve, "  said  Julia,  as  I  paused  at  fault.  "  It  is  indeed  true, 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  221 

as  has  been  hinted  by  Longinus,  that  some  of  the  Christian 
doctors,  through  their  weak  and  mistaken  ambition  to  as 
similate  their  faith  the  nearest  possible  to  the  Greek 
philosophy,  have  magnified  the  points  in  which  the  least 
resemblance  could  be  traced  between  them,  and,  through 
the  force  of  a  lively  imagination,  have  discovered  resem 
blances  which  exist  only  in  their  fancies.  These  they 
make  their  boast  of,  as  showing  that  if  Platonism  be  to  be 
esteemed  for  its  most  striking  peculiarities,  the  very  same, 
or  ones  nearly  corresponding,  exist  also  in  Christianity. 
Thus  they  hope  to  recommend  their  faith  to  the  lovers  of 
philosophy.  Many  have  by  these  means  been  drawn  over 
to  it,  and  have  not  afterwards  altered  any  of  their  modes  of 
life,  and  scarce  any  of  their  opinions, —  still  wearing  the 
philosopher's  robe,  and  teaching  their  former  doctrines, 
slightly  modified  by  a  tincture  of  Christianity.  However 
the  motive  for  such  accommodation  may  be  justified,  it  has 
already  resulted,  and  must  do  so  more  and  more,  to  the 
corruption  and  injury  of  Christianity.  This  religion,  or 
philosophy,  whichever  it  should  be  called,  ought,  however, " 
continued  the  princess,  addressing  particularly  the  Greek, 
"  certainly  to  be  judged  on  its  own  merits,  and  not  by  the 
conduct  or  opinions  of  injudicious,  weak,  or  dishonest  ad 
vocates.  You  are  not  willing  that  Plato  should  be  judged 
by  the  criticisms  of  a  Polemo,  but  insist  that  the  student 
should  go  to  the  pages  of  the  philosopher  himself,  or  else 
to  some  living  expositor  worthy  of  him.  So  the  Christian 
may  say  of  Christianity.  I  have  been  a  reader  of  the  Chris 
tian  records,  and  I  can  say  that  such  secret  and  mysterious 
doctrines  as  you  allude  to,  are  not  to  be  found  there.  More 
over,  I  can  refer  you,  for  the  same  opinion,  to  Paul  of 
Antioch, —  I  wish  he  were  here, — who,  however  he  may 
depart  from  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  life,  maintains 
the  simplicity  of  its  doctrine.  " 

"  You  have  well  shown,  my  fair  pupil, "  replied  the  phi 
losopher,  "  that  the  imputation  upon  Christianity  of  a 
secret  and  interior  doctrine  for  the  initiated  alone  is  un 
just,  but  therein  have  you  deprived  it  of  the  very  feature 


222  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

that  would  commend  it  to  the  studious  and  inquisitive.  It 
may  present  itself  as  a  useful  moral  guide  to  the  common 
mind,  but  scarcely  can  it  hope  to  obtain  that  enthusiastic 
homage  of  souls  imbued  with  the  love  of  letters,  and  of  a 
refined  speculation,  which  binds  in  such  true-hearted  devo 
tion  every  follower  of  Plato  to  the  doctrine  of  his  divine 
master. " 

At  this  moment  Zabdas  and  Otho  entered  the  apartment, 
and,  drawing  near  to  our  group  to  salute  the  queen,  our 
conversation  was  broken  off.  I  took  occasion,  while  this 
ceremony  was  going  through,  to  turn  aside  and  survey  the 
various  beauty  and  magnificence  of  the  room,  with  its  rare 
works  of  art.  In  this  I  was  joined  by  Longinus,  who,  with 
a  taste  and  a  power  which  I  have  seen  in  no  other,  descanted 
upon  the  more  remarkable  of  the  pictures  and  statues,  not 
in  the  manner  of  a  lecturer,  but  with  a  fine  perception  and 
observance  of  that  nice  line  which  separates  the  learned 
philosopher  from  the  polite  man  of  the  world.  He  was 
both  at  once.  He  never  veiled  his  learning  or  his  genius, 
and  yet  never,  by  the  display  of  either,  jarred  the  sensi 
bilities  of  the  most  refined  and  cultivated  taste. 

When  we  had  in  this  way  passed  through  the  apartment, 
and  were  standing  looking  toward  where  Zenobia  sat  en 
gaged  in  earnest  conversation  with  Gracchus  and  Zabdas, 
Longinus  said, — 

"  Do  you  observe  the  restlessness  of  the  queen,  and  that 
flush  upon  her  cheek  ?  She  is  thinking  of  to-morrow,  and 
of  the  departure  of  the  ambassadors.  And  so,  too,  is  it  with 
every  other  here.  We  speak  of  other  things,  but  the  mind 
dwells  but  upon  one.  I  trust  the  queen  will  not  lose  this 
fair  occasion  to  gather  once  more  the  opinions  of  those  who 
most  love  and  honour  her.  Piso,  you  have  seen  something 
of  the  attachment  of  this  people  to  their  queen ;  but  you 
know  not  one  half  of  the  truth.  There  is  not  a  living  man 
in  Palmyra,  save  only  Antiochus,  who  would  not  lay  down 
his  life  for  Zenobia.  I  except  not  myself.  This  attach 
ment  is  founded  in  part  upon  great  and  admirable  qualities. 
But  it  is  to  be  fully  explained  only  when  I  name  the  fasci- 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  223 

nations  of  a  manner  and  a  beauty  such  as  poets  have  feigned 
in  former  ages,  but  which  have  never  been  realized  till  now. 
I  acknowledge  it, — we  are  slaves  yoked  to  her  car,  and  ask 
no  higher  felicity  or  glory.  " 

"  I  wonder  not, "  said  I ;  "  though  a  Eoman,  I  have  hardly 
myself  escaped  the  common  fate ;  you  need  not  be  surprised 
to  see  me  drawn,  by-and-by,  within  the  charmed  circle,  and 
binding  upon  my  own  neck  the  silken  chains  and  the  golden 
yoke.  But  see,  the  queen  asks  our  audience.  " 

We  accordingly  moved  toward  the  seat  which  Zenobia 
now  occupied,  surrounded  by  her  friends,  some  being  seated 
and  others  standing  without  order  around  her. 

"  Good  friends, "  said  she,  "  I  believe  one  thought  tills 
every  mind  present  here.  Is  it  not  better  that  we  give  it 
utterance  ?  I  need  the  sympathy  and  the  counsel  of  those 
who  love  me.  But  I  ask  not  only  for  the  opinions  of  those 
who  agree  with  me,  but  as  sincerely  for  those  of  such  as 
may  differ  from  me.  You  know  me  well  in  this,  that  I  re 
fuse  not  to  hearken  to  reasons,  the  strongest  that  can  be 
devised,  although  they  oppose  my  own  settled  judgment. 
Upon  an  occasion  like  this,  it  would  ill  become  the  head 
of  a  great  empire  to  shut  out  the  slenderest  ray  of  light 
that  from  any  quarter  might  be  directed  upon  the  questions 
which  so  deeply  interest  and  agitate  us.  I  believe  that  the 
great  heart  of  my  people  goes  with  me  in  the  resolution  I 
have  taken,  and  am  supported  in  by  my  council ;  but  I  am 
well  aware  that  minds  not  inferior  to  any  in  strength,  and 
hearts  that  beat  not  less  warmly  toward  their  country  and 
toward  me  than  any  others,  are  opposed  to  that  resolution, 
and  anticipate  nought  but  disaster  and  ruin  from  a  conflict 
with  the  masters  of  the  world.  Let  us  freely  open  our 
minds  each  to  other,  and  let  no  one  fear  to  offend  me,  but 
by  withholding  his  full  and  free  opinion. " 

"  We  who  know  our  queen  so  well, "  said  Gracchus, 
"  hardly  need  these  assurances.  Were  I  as  bitterly  op 
posed  to  the  measures  proposed  as  I  am  decidedly  in  favour 
of  them,  I  should  none  the  less  freely  and  frankly  declare 
the  reasons  of  my  dissent.  I  am  sure  that  every  one  here 


224  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

experiences  the  freedom  you  enjoin.  But  who  will  need 
to  use  it  ?  For  are  we  not  of  one  mind  ?  I  see,  indeed,  one 
or  two  who  oppose  the  general  mind.  But  for  the  rest,  one 
spirit  animates  all ;  and,  what  is  more,  to  the  farthest  limits 
of  the  kingdom  am  I  persuaded  the  same  spirit  spreads,  and 
possesses  and  tills  every  soul.  The  attempt  of  Aurelian  to 
control  us  in  our  affairs,  to  dictate  to  us  concerning  the 
limits  of  our  empire  so  far  removed,  is  felt  to  be  a  wanton 
freak  of  despotic  power,  which,  if  it  be  not  withstood  in 
its  first  encroachment,  may  proceed  to  other  acts  less  toler 
able  still,  and  which  may  leave  us  scarcely  our  name  as  a 
distinct  people  —  and  that  covered  with  shame.  Although 
a  Koman  by  descent,  I  advocate  not  Koman  intolerance. 
I  can  see  and  denounce  injustice  in  Aurelian  as  well  as 
another.  Palmyra  is  my  country,  and  Zenobia  my  queen  j 
and  when  I  seek  not  their  honour  may  my  own  fall 
blasted  and  ruined.  I  stand  ready  to  pledge  for  them  in 
this  emergency,  what  every  other  man  of  Palmyra  holds  it 
his  privilege  to  offer,  my  property  and  my  life;  and  if  I 
have  any  possession  dearer  than  these,  I  am  ready  to  bring 
and  lay  it  upon  the  same  altar. " 

The  eyes  of  Zenobia  filled  at  the  generous  enthusiasm  of 
her  faithful  councillor ;  and  for  Fausta,  it  was  only  a  look 
and  sign  of  the  queen  that  held  her  to  her  seat. 

Longinus  then,  as  seemed  to  be  his  place,  entered  at 
length  into  the  merits  of  the  question.  He  did  not  hesi 
tate  to  say  that  at  the  first  outbreak  of  these  difficulties  he 
had  been  in  favour  of  such  concessions  to  the  pride  of  Eome 
as  would  perhaps  have  appeased  her,  and  cast  no  indignity 
upon  Palmyra.  He  did  not  scruple  to  add  that  he  had 
deeply  disapproved  and  honestly  censured  that  rash  act  of 
the  young  princes  in  assuming  the  garb  and  state  of  Caesars. 
He  would  rather  leave  to  Eome  her  own  titles  and  empire, 
and  stand  here  upon  a  new  and  independent  footing.  It 
was  a  mad  and  useless  affront  deeply  wounding  to  the  pride 
of  Aurelian,  and  the  more  rankling,  as  it  was  of  the  nature 
of  a  personal  as  well  as  national  affront.  He  withheld  not 
blame  too  from  that  towering  ambition  that,  as  he  said, 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  225 

coveted  the  world  because  the  gods  had  indeed  imparted 
a  genius  capable  to  rule  the  world.  He  had  exerted  all  his 
powers  to  moderate  and  restrain  it,  by  infusing  a  love  of 
other  than  warlike  pursuits.  "  But, "  said  he,  "  the  gods 
weave  the  texture  of  our  souls,  not  ourselves ;  and  the  web 
is  too  intensely  wove,  and  drenched  in  too  deep  a  dye,  for 
us  to  undo  or  greatly  change.  The  eagle  cannot  be  tamed 
down  to  the  softness  of  a  dove,  and  no  art  of  the  husband 
man  can  send  into  the  gnarled  and  knotted  oak  the  juices 
that  shall  smooth  and  melt  its  stiffness  into  the  yielding 
pliancy  of  the  willow.  I  wage  no  war  with  the  work  of 
the  gods.  Besides,  the  demands  of  Eome  have  now  grown 
to  such  a  size  that  they  swallow  up  our  very  existence  as 
a  free  and  sovereign  state.  They  leave  us  but  this  single 
city  and  province  out  of  an  empire  that  now  stretches  from 
the  Nile  to  the  Bosphorus, —  an  empire  obtained  by  what 
cost  of  blood  and  treasure  I  need  not  say,  any  more  than  by 
what  consummate  skill  in  that  art  which  boasts  the  loftiest 
minds  of  all  ages.  "  He  went  on  to  say  that  Palmyra  owed 
a  duty  not  only  to  herself  in  this  matter,  but  to  the  whole 
East  especially,  and  even  to  the  world.  For  what  part  of 
the  civilized  world  had  not  been  trampled  into  the  dust  by 
the  despotism  of  almighty  Home  ?  It  was  needful  to  the 
well-being  of  nations  that  some  power  should  boldly  stand 
forth  and  check  an  insolence  that  suffered  no  city  or  king 
dom  to  rest  in  peace.  No  single  people  ought  to  obtain 
universal  empire.  A  powerful  nation  was  the  more  obser 
vant  of  the  eternal  principles  of  honour  and  justice  for 
being  watched  by  another,  its  equal.  Individual  character 
needs  such  supervision,  and  national  as  much.  Palmyra 
was  now  an  imposing  object  in  the  eye  of  the  whole  world. 
It  was  the  second  power.  All  he  wished  was,  that  for  the 
sake  of  the  world's  peace  it  should  retain  this  position.  He 
deprecated  conquest.  However  another  might  aspire  to 
victory  over  Aurelian,  to  new  additions  from  the  Koman 
territory,  he  had  no  such  aspirations.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  should  deplore  any  success  beyond  the  maintenance  of 
a  just  and  honourable  independence.  This  was  our  right, 

15 


226  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

he  said,  by  inheritance,  and  as  much  also  by  conquest,  and 
for  this  he  was  ready,  with  the  noble  Gracchus,  to  offer  to 
his  sovereign  his  properties,  his  powers,  and  his  life.  "  If 
my  poor  life, "  he  closed  with  saying,  "  could  prolong  by  a 
single  year  the  reign  of  one  who,  with  virtue  so  eminent 
and  a  genius  so  vast,  fills  the  throne  of  this  fair  kingdom, 
I  would  lay  it  at  her  feet  with  joy,  and  think  it  a  service 
well  done  for  our  own  and  the  world's  happiness. " 

No  sooner  had  Longinus  ended,  than  Otho,  a  man  of 
whom  I  have  more  than  once  spoken  to  you,  begged  to  say 
a  few  words. 

"  My  opinions  are  well  known, "  he  began  with  saying, 
"  and  it  may  be  needless  that  I  should  again,  and  especially 
here,  declare  them,  seeing  that  they  will  jar  so  rudely  with 
those  entertained  by  you,  my  friends  around  me.  But  sure 
I  am,  that  no  one  has  advocated  the  cause  and  the  senti 
ments  which  Zenobia  cherishes  so  fondly,  with  a  truer, 
deeper  affection  for  her,  with  a  sincerer  love  of  her  glory, 
than  I  rise  to  oppose  them  with  —  " 

"  We  know  it,  we  know  it,  Otho, "  interrupted  the  queen. 

"  Thanks,  noble  queen,  for  the  fresh  assurance  of  it.  It 
is  because  I  love,  that  I  resist  you.  It  is  because  I  glory 
in  your  reign,  in  your  renown,  in  your  virtues,  that  I  oppose 
an  enterprise  that  I  see  with  a  prophet's  vision  will  tarnish 
them  all.  Were  I  your  enemy,  I  could  not  do  better  than  to 
repeat  the  arguments  that  have  just  fallen  from  the  lips  of 
the  head  of  our  councils,  set  off  with  every  trick  of  eloquence 
that  would  send  them  with  a  yet  more  resistless  power  into 
the  minds,  not  only  of  those  who  are  assembled  here,  but 
of  those  your  subjects,  wherever  over  these  large  dominions 
they  are  scattered.  To  press  this  war  is  to  undermine  the 
foundations  of  the  fairest  kingdom  the  sun  shines  upon,  and 
unseat  the  most  beloved  ruler  that  ever  swayed  a  sceptre 
over  the  hearts  of  a  devoted  people.  It  can  have  no  other 
issue.  And  this  is  not,  O  noble  queen,  to  throw  discredit 
upon  former  achievements,  or  to  express  a  doubt  of  powers 
which  have  received  the  homage  of  the  world.  It  is  only 
with  open  eyes  to  acknowledge  what  all  but  the  blind  must 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  227 

see  and  confess,  —  the  overwhelming  superiority  in  power  of 
every  kind  of  the  other  party.  With  a  feeble  man  upon  the 
Eoman  throne,  and  I  grant  that  upon  the  outskirts  of  her 
empire  a  brave  and  determined  opposition  might  obtain 
great  advantages,  and  conquer  or  reconquer  provinces  and 
cities,  and  bring  disgrace  upon  Koman  generals.  But  this 
must  be  transitory  glory  —  the  mere  shooting  of  an  evening 
star  —  ending  in  deeper  gloom.  For  what  is  Rome  ?  Is  it 
the  commander  of  a  legion,  or  the  resident  governor  of  a 
dependent  kingdom,  or  even  Caesar  himself  ?  And  have  you 
dealt  with  Rome  when  you  have  dealt  with  Balista  or 
Heraclianus  or  Probus ?  Alas!  no.  Rome  still  stands 
omnipotent  and  secure.  The  lion  has  been  but  chafed, 
and  is  still  a  lion,  with  more  than  his  former  fury;  one 
hair  has  been  drawn,  his  teeth,  his  limbs,  his  massy 
weight,  his  untouched  energies,  remain.  Rome  has  been 
asleep  for  thirteen  long  years.  Any  empire  but  Rome  — 
which  is  immortal  —  would  have  slept  the  sleep  of  death 
under  the  dastardly,  besotted  Gallienus.  But  Rome  has 
but  slumbered,  and  has  now  awaked  with  renovated  powers 
under  the  auspices  of  a  man  whose  name  alone  has  carried 
terror  and  dismay  to  the  farthest  tribes  of  the  German  for 
ests.  Against  Aurelian,  with  all  the  world  at  his  back  J 

—  and  what  can  any  resistance  of  ours  avail?     We  may 
gain  a  single  victory, — to  that  genius  and  courage  are  equal, 
and  we  possess  them  in  more  than  even  Roman  measure, — 
but  that  very  victory  may  be  our  undoing ;  for  it  will  but 
embitter  the  temper  of  the  enemy,  call  forth  a  new  display 
of  unexhausted  and  inexhaustible  resources,  while  our  very 
good  success  itself  will  have  nearly  annihilated  our  armies 

—  and  what  can  happen  then  but  ruin,  absolute  and  com 
plete?     Roman  magnanimity  may  spare  our  city  and  our 
name.     But  it  is  more  likely  that  Roman  vengeance  may 
blot  them  both  out  from  the  map  of  the  world,  and  leave 
us  nought  but  the  fame  of  our  queen,  and  the  crumbling 
ruins  of  this  once  flourishing  city  by  which  to  be  remem 
bered  by  posterity. 

"  These  are  not  the  counsels  of  fear  —  of  a  tame  and 


228  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

cowardly  spirit.  I  may  rebut  that  imputation  without 
vanity,  by  referring  to  the  siege  of  Ctesiphon  and  the  re 
duction  of  Egypt.  The  generous  Zabdas  will  do  me  justice 
—  nay,  you  all  will  —  why  am  I  apprehensive  ?  Bear  with 
me  a  moment  more.  " 

"  Say  on,  say  on,  noble  Otho, "  said  the  queen,  and  many 
other  voices  at  the  same  time. 

"  The  great  Longinus  has  said, "  continued  he,  "  that  it  is 
needful  that  there  be  one  empire  at  least  in  the  world  to 
stand  between  Eome  and  universal  dominion.  I  believe  it. 
And  that  Palmyra  may  be,  or  continue  to  be  that  kingdom, 
I  counsel  peace;  I  counsel  delay,  temporary  concession, 
negotiation, —  anything  but  war.  A  Koman  emperor  lives 
not  forever ;  and  let  us  once  ward  off  the  jealousy  of  Aure- 
lian,  by  yielding  to  some  of  his  demands  and  resigning 
pretensions  which  are  nothing  in  reality,  but  exist  as 
names  and  shadows  only,  and  long  years  of  peace  and 
prosperity  may  again  rise,  when  our  now  infant  kingdom 
may  shoot  up  into  the  strong  bone  and  muscle  of  a  more 
vigorous  manhood,  and  with  reason  assert  rights  which  now 
it  seems  but  madness,  essential  madness,  to  do.  Listen, 
great  queen,  to  the  counsels  of  a  time-worn  soldier,  whose 
soul  is  bound  up  in  most  true-hearted  devotion  to  your 
greatness  and  glory.  I  quarrel  not  with  your  ambition,  or 
your  love  of  war-like  fame.  I  would  only  direct  them  to 
fields  where  they  may  pluck  fresh  laurels,  and  divert  them 
from  those  where  waits  —  pardon  me,  my  royal  mistress  — 
inevitable  shame. " 

Soon  as  Otho  had  given  a  single  sign  of  pause,  Zabdas, 
like  a  war-horse,  sprang  upon  his  feet.  "  Were  not  the 
words, "  said  he,  "  which  we  have  just  heard,  the  words  of 
Otho,  I  should  cry  out,  Treason!  treason!  But  Otho  —  is 
Otho.  What  nation  would  ever,  0  queen,  outgrow  its  in 
fancy,  were  a  policy  like  this  now  descanted  upon  to  guide 
its  councils?  The  general  who  risks  nothing  can  win 
nothing.  And  the  nation  that  would  wait  till  absolutely 
sure  of  victory  before  unsheathing  the  sword,  would  never 
draw  it,  or  only  in  some  poor  skirmish,  where  victory  would 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  229 

be  as  disgraceful  as  defeat.  Besides,  although  such  a  nation 
were  to  rise  by  such  victories,  if  victories  those  may  be 
called,  won  by  a  thousand  over  a  hundred,  who  would  not 
blush  to  own  himself  a  citizen  of  it  ?  Greatness  lies  not 
in  pounds  weight  of  flesh,  but  in  skill,  courage,  warlike 
genius,  energy,  and  indomitable  will.  A  great  heart  will 
scatter  a  multitude.  The  love  of  freedom  in  a  few  brave 
spirits  overthrows  kingdoms.  It  was  not,  if  I  rightly  re 
member,  numbers  by  which  the  Persian  hosts  were  beaten 
upon  the  plains  of  Greece.  It  was  there  something  like 
three  hundred  to  a  million;  the  million  weighed  more 
than  the  three  hundred,  yet  the  three  hundred  were  the 
heavier.  The  arm  of  one  Spartan  fell  like  a  tempest  upon 
the  degenerate  Persians,  crushing  its  thousands  at  a  single 
sweep.  It  was  a  great  heart  and  a  trusting  spirit  that  made 
it  weigh  so  against  mere  human  flesh.  Are  we  to  wait  till 
Palmyra  be  as  multitudinous  as  Kome,  ere  we  risk  a  battle  ? 
Perhaps  Eome  will  grow  as  fast  as  Palmyra ;  and  how  long 
must  we  then  wait  ?  I  care  not  though  Aurelian  bring  half 
Europe  at  his  back ;  there  sits  a  throned  spirit  —  whether 
of  earth  or  not,  I  cannot  tell,  but  as  I  think,  more  than 
half  divine  —  who  will  drive  him  back  shattered  and  bleed 
ing,  the  jest  and  ridicule  of  the  observing  world.  She 
who,  by  the  force  of  pure  intellect,  has  out  of  this  speck  in 
the  desert  made  a  large  empire ;  who  has  humbled  Persia, 
and  entered  her  capital  in  triumph ;  has  defeated  three  Bo- 
man  armies,  and  wrested  more  provinces  than  time  will 
allow  me  to  number  from  the  firm  grasp  of  the  self-styled 
mistress  of  the  world, —  this  more  than  Semiramis  is  to  be 
daunted,  forsooth,  because  a  Roman  soldier  of  fortune  sends 
his  hirelings  here,  and  asks  of  her  the  surrender  of  three 
fourths  of  her  kingdom;  she  is  to  kneel  and  cry  him 
mercy,  and  humbly  lay  at  his  royal  feet  the  laurels  won 
by  so  much  precious  blood  and  treasure.  May  the  sands 
of  the  desert  bury  Palmyra  and  her  queen,  sooner  than  one 
humiliating  word  shall  pass  those  lips,  or  one  act  of  con 
cession  blast  a  fame  to  this  hour  spotless  as  the  snows  of 
Ararat,  and  bright  as  the  Persian  god!  Shame  upon  the 


230  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

man  who,  after  the  lessons  of  the  past,  wants  faith  in  his 
sovereign.  Great  queen,  believe  me,  the  nation  is  with 
you.  Palmyra,  as  one  man,  will  pour  out  treasure  to  the 
last  and  least  dust  of  gold,  and  blood  to  the  last  drop,  that 
you  may  still  sit  secure  upon  that  throne,  and  stretch  your 
sceptre  over  yet  wider  and  undishonoured  empire.  " 

"  Let  not  the  queen,"  resumed  Otho,  as  Zabdas  ceased, — 
"  let  not  the  queen  doubt  my  faith  —  " 

"  I  doubt  it  not,  good  Otho, "  she  replied ;  "  heed  not  the 
sharp  words  of  the  impetuous  Zabdas ;  in  his  zeal  for  the 
art  he  only  loves,  and  for  his  queen,  he  has  thrust  his  lance 
hither  and  thither  at  all  adventures,  but,  as  in  the  sports 
of  the  field,  he  means  no  injury.  " 

"  Zabdas  intends  no  wrong,  I  am  well  assured, "  rejoined 
Otho.  "  I  would  only  add  a  word,  to  show  upon  what  I 
ground  my  doubt  of  good  success,  should  Aurelian  muster 
all  his  strength.  It  cannot  be  thought  that  I  have  lost  my 
faith  in  the  military  genius  and  prowess  of  either  Zenobia 
or  Zabdas,  with  both  of  whom,  side  by  side,  I  have  fought 
so  many  times,  and  by  their  conduct  mounted  up  to  vic 
tory.  Neither  do  I  doubt  the  courage  of  our  native  Pal- 
myrenes,  or  their  devotion  to  the  interests  of  their  country. 
They  will  war  to  the  death.  But  should  a  second  army  be 
to  be  raised;  should  the  chosen  troops  of  the  city  and  its 
neighbouring  territories  be  once  cut  off, — upon  whom  are 
we  then  to  rely  ?  Where  are  the  auxiliaries  whom  we  can 
trust  ?  What  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  Arabs,  the 
Armenians,  the  Saracens,  the  Cappadocians,  the  Syrians  ? 
Is  our  empire  so  old,  and  so  well  moulded  into  one  mass, 
so  single  in  interest  and  affection,  that  these  scattered 
tribes,  formerly  hostile  to  each  other  and  to  us,  many,  most 
of  them  at  different  times  subject  to  Eome,  may  be  de 
pended  upon  as  our  own  people  ?  Have  we  legions  already 
drawn  from  their  numbers,  disciplined,  and  accustomed  to 
our  modes  of  warfare  ?  Truly  this  war  with  Eome  seems 
to  be  approached  much  as  if  it  were  but  some  passing  show 
of  arms,  some  holiday  pastime.  But  the  gods  grant  that 
none  of  my  forebodings  turn  true !  " 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  231 

The  words  of  the  sober-minded  and  honest  Otho  found  no 
echo  in  the  bosoms  of  those  who  heard  him,  and  he  ceased, 
when  I  believe  he  would  willingly  have  gone  on  to  a  closer 
and  sharper  opposition.  Others  followed  him,  each  one  pres 
ent  eagerly  pressing  forward  to  utter,  were  it  but  one  word, 
to  show  his  loyalty  and  his  zeal  in  the  service  of  his  queen. 

When  all,  or  nearly  all,  had  in  this  manner  manifested 
their  attachment  and  declared  their  opinions,  the  queen 
turned  to  me,  saying,  that  as  I  had  there  heard  so  much  of 
what  I  could  not  approve,  and  perhaps  had  power  to  dis 
prove,  it  was  right  that,  if  I  wished,  I  should  also  express 
my  opinions, — nay,  it  would  be  esteemed  as  a  favour  by 
herself,  and  she  was  sure  also  by  all  her  friends,  if  I  would 
freely  impart  any  knowledge  I  might  possess,  by  which  any 
error  might  be  corrected,  or  false  impressions  dissipated. 

Being  thus  invited,  I  not  unwillingly  entered  into  the 
questions  that  had  been  agitated,  and  with  earnestness  and 
sincerity,  and  with  all  the  power  I  could  bring  to  bear, 
laboured  to  expose  the  imminent  hazard  to  the  very  exist 
ence  of  the  kingdom  which  was  run  by  this  rash  encounter 
with  the  countless  hosts  of  Eome.  I  revealed  a  true  picture 
of  the  resources  of  our  country,  and  sketched,  as  I  could  so 
well  do,  in  their  proper  colours  the  character  of  the  fierce 
Aurelian ;  and,  in  a  word,  did  all  that  a  Koman  could  do 
for  Eome,  and  a  Palmyrene  for  Palmyra.  I  remembered 
what  Otho  had  told  me  of  the  courtesy  and  the  willingness 
with  which  any  company  of  genuine  Palmyrenes  would 
listen  to  me,  and  shrank  not  from  any  statement,  however 
harsh  and  grating  to  their  national  vanity,  but  which  seemed 
to  me  to  convey  wholesome  truth.  It  appeared  to  me,  in 
deed,  too  late  to  work  any  change  in  minds  so  pledged 
already  to  an  adopted  opinion;  but  I  resolved  to  leave 
nothing  untried,  however  unlikely,  to  turn  them  from  a 
bent  that  must  end  in  irretrievable  ruin.  I  was  encour 
aged,  too,  and  urged  on  to  more  than  a  common  effort,  by 
the  imploring  countenance  of  the  Princess  Julia,  who, 
in  that  expressive  manner,  begged  me  to  use  all  frankness 
and  boldness  in  my  communications.  Otho  had,  it  is 


232  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

true,  with  great  power  and  unshrinking  fidelity,  advocated 
the  cause  of  peace,  and  laid  bare  the  true  motives  to  the 
war ;  but  still  it  appeared  to  me  that  much  might  be  said 
by  a  Koman  and  a  stranger,  that  would  carry  with  it  more 
weight  than  as  coming  from  a  citizen,  however  loved  and 
respected.  To  you,  my  friend,  I  need  enter  into  no  detail ; 
you  will  easily  imagine  what  it  was,  as  a  Roman,  I  should 
urge  upon  such  an  occasion,  and  in  such  a  presence.  I  shall 
always  remember  with  satisfaction,  I  am  sure, —  whatever 
the  issue  of  this  difference  may  be, —  my  efforts  to  preserve 
peace  between  two  nations,  whose  best  interests  must  be 
advanced,  not  by  enmity  and  war,  but  by  the  closest  alliance 
of  friendly  intercourse. 

I  was  heard  with  attention  and  respect,  and  afterwards 
with  sincerity  thanked,  not  only  by  the  opposers  of  the 
present  measures,  but  by  their  advocates  also, —  they  were 
glad  to  know  the  worst  that  could  be  said  against  the  cause 
they  had  espoused.  A  brief  silence  ensued,  as  I  ended,  and 
the  eyes  of  all  were  instinctively  turned  upon  Zenobia, — 
the  ruling  spirit,  the  maker  of  the  kingdom,  its  soul,  its 
life-blood,  its  head,  and  bright,  peerless  crown. 

*  It  was  my  wish, "  said  Zenobia,  answering  the  general 
expectation,  "  before  'the  final  decision  of  the  senate  and  the 
council,  to  receive  from  my  friends,  in  social  confidence,  a 
full  expression  of  their  feelings,  their  opinions,  their  hopes, 
and  their  fears,  concerning  the  present  posture  of  our  affairs. 
My  wish  has  been  gratified,  and  I  truly  thank  you  all,  and 
not  least  those  my  friends  —  as  a  philosopher,  should  I  not 
term  them  my  best  friends  ?  —  who,  with  a  generous  trust 
in  me,  and  in  you  who  are  on  my  part,  have  not  shrunk 
from  the  duty,  always  a  hard  one,  of  exposing  the  errors  and 
the  faults  of  those  they  love.  After  such  exposure  —  and 
which  at  more  length  and  with  more  specification,  will,  I 
trust,  be  repeated  in  the  hearing  of  the  senate  and  the 
council  —  it  cannot  be  said  that  I  blindly  rushed  upon 
danger  and  ruin  —  if  these  await  us  —  or  weakly  blundered 
upon  a  wider  renown,  if  that,  as  I  doubt  not,  is  to  be  the 
event  of  the  impending  contest.  I  would  neither  gain  nor 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  233 

lose,  but  as  the  effect  of  a  wise  calculation  and  a  careful 
choice  of  means.  Withhold  not  now  your  confidence,  which 
before  you  have  never  refused  me.  Believe  that  now,  as 
ever  before,  I  discern  with  a  clear  eye  the  path  which  is  to 
conduct  us  to  a  yet  higher  pitch  of  glory.  I  have  long 
anticipated  the  emergency  that  has  arisen.  I  was  not  so 
ignorant  of  the  history  and  character  of  the  Eoman  people, 
as  to  suppose  that  they  would  suffer  an  empire  like  this, 
founded,  too,  and  governed  by  a  woman,  to  divide  long  with 
them  the  homage  of  the  world.  With  the  death  of  the 
ignoble  son  of  Valerian,  I  believed  would  close  our  undis 
puted  reign  over  most  of  these  Eastern  provinces.  Had 
Claudius  lived,  good  as  he  was,  he  was  too  Eoman  in  his 
mould  not  to  have  done  what  Aurelian  now  attempts.  I 
prepared,  then,  for  the  crisis  which  has  come  not  till  now. 
I  am  ready  now.  My  armies  are  in  complete  discipline ; 
the  city  itself  so  fortified  with  every  art  and  muniment  of 
war  as  safely  to  defy  any  power  that  any  nation  may  array 
before  its  walls.  But  were  this  not  so, — did  the  embassy 
of  Aurelian  take  us  by  surprise  and  unprepared,  should  a 
people  that  respects  itself,  and  would  win  or  keep  the  good 
opinion  of  mankind,  tamely  submit  to  requisitions  like 
these  ?  Are  we  to  dismember  our  country  at  the  behest  of 
a  stranger,  of  a  foreigner  and  a  Eoman  ?  Do  you  feel  that 
without  a  struggle  first  for  freedom  and  independence,  you 
could  sink  down  into  a  mean  tributary  of  all-engulfing 
Eome,  and  lose  the  name  of  Palmyrene?  I  see,  by  the 
most  expressive  of  all  language,  that  you  would  rather 
die.  Happy  are  you,  my  friends,  that  this  is  not  your 
case :  you  are  ready  for  the  enemy ;  you  shall  not  lose 
your  name  or  your  renown ;  and  you  shall  not  die.  I  and 
my  brave  soldiers  will  at  a  distance  breast  the  coming  storm, 
—  your  ears  shall  not  so  much  as  hear  its  thunder, —  and,  at 
the  worst,  by  the  sacrifice  of  our  lives,  yours  and  your 
country's  life  shall  be  preserved. 

"  I  am  advised  to  avert  this  evil  by  negotiation,  by  delay. 
Does  any  one  believe  that  delay  on  our  part  will  change  the 
time -engendered  character  of  Eome  ?  If  I  cease  to  oppose, 


234  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

will  Eome  cease  to  be  ambitious  ?  Will  fair  words  turn 
aside  the  fierce  spirit  of  Aurelian  from  his  settled  purpose  ? 
Will  he  —  so  truly  painted  by  the  Roman  Piso  —  who  looks 
to  build  an  undying  name  by  bringing  back  the  empire  to 
the  bounds  that  compassed  it  under  the  great  Antonines, 
let  slip  the  glory  for  a  few  cities  now  in  hand,  and  others 
promised,  or  for  the  purple  robe  humbly  pulled  from  our 
young  Caesars'  shoulders  ?  Believe  it  riot.  The  storm  that 
threatens  might  be  so  warded  off  perhaps  for  a  day,  a  month, 
a  year,  a  reign ;  but  after  that  it  would  come,  and  in  all 
reasonable  calculation,  with  tenfold  fury.  I  would  rather 
meet  the  danger  at  its  first  menace,  and  thereby  keep  both  our 
good  name  (which  otherwise  should  we  not  sully  or  lose  ?), 
and  find  it  less,  too,  than  a  few  more  years  would  make  it. 

"  I  am  charged  with  pride  and  ambition.  The  charge  is 
true,  and  I  glory  in  its  truth.  Who  ever  achieved  anything 
great  in  letters,  arts,  or  arms,  who  was  not  ambitious? 
Caesar  was  not  more  ambitious  than  Cicero.  It  was  but  in 
another  way.  All  greatness  is  born  of  ambition.  Let  the 
ambition  be  a  noble  one,  and  who  shall  blame  it  ?  I  confess 
I  did  once  aspire  to  be  queen,  not  only  of  Palmyra,  but  of 
the  East.  That  I  am.  I  now  aspire  to  remain  so.  Is  it 
not  an  honourable  ambition  ?  Does  it  not  become  a  de 
scendant  of  the  Ptolemies  and  of  Cleopatra?  I  am  ap 
plauded  by  you  all  for  what  I  have  already  done.  You 
would  not  it  should  have  been  less.  But  why  pause  here  ? 
Is  so  much  ambition  praiseworthy,  and  more  criminal  ?  Is 
it  fixed  in  nature  that  the  limits  of  this  empire  should  be 
Egypt  on  the  one  hand,  the  Hellespont  and  the  Euxine  on 
the  other  ?  Were  not  Suez  and  Armenia  more  natural  lim 
its  ?  Or  hath  empire  no  natural  limit,  but  is  broad  as  the 
genius  that  can  devise,  and  the  power  that  can  win  ?  Rome 
has  the  West.  Let  Palmyra  possess  the  East.  Not  that 
Nature  prescribes  this  and  no  more.  The  gods  prospering, 
and  I  swear  not  that  the  Mediterranean  shall  hem  me  in  upon 
the  west,  or  Persia  on  the  east.  Longinus  is  right ;  I  would 
that  the  world  were  mine.  I  feel  within  the  will  and  the 
power  to  bless  it,  were  it  so. 


PALMYRA  AND  ROME.  236 

"  Are  not  my  people  happy  ?     I  look  upon  the  past  and 
the  present,  upon  my  nearer  and  remoter  subjects,  and  ask 
nor   fear   the   answer.      Whom   have   I   wronged?     What 
province    have    I    oppressed;   what    city    pillaged;    what 
region  drained   with  taxes  ?     Whose  life  have  I  unjustly 
taken,  or  estates  coveted  or  robbed;   whose   honour  have 
I  wantonly  assailed;   whose  rights,   though  of   the  weak 
est  and  poorest,  have  I  trenched  upon  ?     I  dwell,  where  I 
would  ever  dwell,  in  the  hearts  of  my  people.     It  is  writ  in 
your  faces  that  I  reign  not  more  over  you  than  within  you. 
The  foundation  of  my  throne  is  not  more  power  than  love. 
Suppose,  now,   my  ambition  add  another  province  to  our 
realm.      Is  it  an  evil  ?     The  kingdoms  already  bound  to  us 
by  the  joint  acts  of  ourself  and  the  late  royal  Odenatus,  we 
found  discordant  and  at  war.     They  are  now  united,  and  at 
peace.     One  harmonious  whole  has  grown  out  of  hostile  and 
sundered  parts.     At  my  hands  they  receive  a  common  jus 
tice  and  equal  benefits.   The  channels  of  their  commerce  have 
I  opened,  and  dug  them  deep  and  sure.     Prosperity  and 
plenty  are  in  all  their  borders.     The  streets  of  our  capital 
bear  testimony  to  the  distant  and  various  industry  which 
here  seeks  its  market.     This  is  no  vain  boasting;   receive 
it  not  so,  good  friends,  it  is  but  truth.     He  who  traduces 
himself,  sins  with  him  who  traduces  another.     He  who  is 
unjust  to  himself,  or  less  than  just,  breaks  a  law  as  well  as 
he  who  hurts  his  neighbour.     I  tell  you  what  I  am,  and 
what  I  have  done,  that  your  trust  for  the  future  may  not 
rest  upon  ignorant  grounds.     If  I  am  more  than  just  to  my 
self,  rebuke  me.     If  I  have  overstepped  the  modesty  that 
became  me,  I  am  open  to  your  censure,  and  will  bear  it. 
But  I  have  spoken  that   you  may  know  your  queen,  not 
only  by  her  acts,  but  by  her  admitted  principles.     I  tell 
you  then  that  I  am  ambitious ;  that  I  crave  dominion,  and. 
while  I  live,  will  reign.      Sprung  from  a  line  of  kings,  1 
throne  is  my  natural  seat.     I  love  it.     But  I  strive,  too,-  - 
you  can  bear  me  witness  that  I  do, —  that  it  shall  be,  while 
I  sit  upon  it,  an  honoured,  unpolluted  seat.     If  I  can,  I 
will  hang  a  yet  brighter  glory  around  it. 


236  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"And  as  to  pride  —  what  if  my  woman's  nature,  that 
nature  the  gods  implanted,  and  I  have  received  from  royal 
ancestors,  loves  the  pomp  and  show  of  power  ?  What  if  the 
pride  which  dwells  in  all  high  natures,  gratifies  itself  in 
me  by  planting  its  feet  upon  an  Indian  princess,  as  its  only 
fitting  footstool,  who  —  *  suddenly,  at  this  point  of  her  dis 
course,  the  queen  broke  off,  and  advancing  from  where  she 
stood  —  she  had  risen  from  her  seat  in  the  ardour  of  her 
address — greeted  with  native  courtesy  and  grace  the  Ro- 
man  ambassadors,  who,  in  company  with  others  of  their 
train,  we  now  saw  entering  the  apartments. 

The  company,  upon  this,  again  resolved  itself  into  many 
separate  groups,  and  returned  to  such  private  topics  as  each 
one  liked,  Zenobia  devoting  herself  to  Varro  and  Petronius. 

By-and-by,  at  the  striking  up  of  music,  we  moved  to 
another  apartment,  the  banqueting-hall, —  the  same  Egyp 
tian  room  in  which  I  had  before  partaken  the  hospitalities 
of  the  Eastern  queen, —  where  tables,  set  out  with  the  most 
lavish  magnificence,  and  bending  beneath  the  most  tempt 
ing  burdens,  awaited  our  approach.  A  flood  of  light  was 
poured  from  the  ceiling,  and  reflected  back  again  from  the 
jewelled  wine-cups  and  embossed  gold  of  Demetrius. 

But  I  cannot  pretend  to  describe  this  sumptuous  feast. 
I  will  only  say  that  the  queen,  seated  between  the  Roman 
ambassadors,  gave  the  evening  to  them.  And,  what  with 
the  frequent  cups  in  which  she  pledged  them,  and  the  fas 
cinating  charms  of  her  beauty  and  her  conversation,  I  fear 
there  was  but  little  of  the  Roman  in  them  when  they  rose 
to  depart.  In  this  more  peaceful  way  has  Zenobia  won 
provinces  and  cities,  as  well  as  at  the  head  of  her  armies. 
Farewell 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.  237 


LETTEE  XL 

LOVE,    AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED. 

LOVE.  —  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  STATE.  —  AN  ADVENTURE. — 
THE  ENRAGED  ELEPHANT.  —  ZENOBIA  SAVED.  —  CALPURNIUS 
RETURNED.  —  ISAAC'S  STORY  OF  MANES  THE  PERSIAN. 

FKOM  my  late  letters  to  Portia,  which,  without  doubt, 
you  have  before  this  read,  you  have  learned  with  cer 
tainty,  what  I  am  sure  the  eye  of  Lucilia  must  before  have 
clearly  discerned,  my  love  for  the  Princess  Julia.  I  have 
there  related  all  that  it  can  import  my  friends  to  know. 
The  greatest  event  of  my  life  —  the  issues  of  which,  whether 
they  are  to  crown  me  with  a  felicity  the  gods  might  envy, 
or  plunge  me  in  afflictions  divine  compassions  could  not 
assuage,  I  have  there  described  with  that  careful  concern 
for  your  fullest  information,  touching  all  that  befalls  me,  by 
which,  you  will  bear  me  testimony,  I  have  been  actuated 
during  my  residence  in  this  Eastern  capital. 

You  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  my  passion  is 
opposed  by  the  queen.  It  was  in  the  same  apartment  of 
the  palace  where  I  first  saw  this  wonderful  woman,  that  at 
a  late  interview  with  her  —  at  her  command  —  I  was  en 
joined  to  think  no  more  of  an  alliance  with  her  house. 

I  was,  as  you  may  easily  imagine,  not  a  little  disturbed 
in  anticipation  of  an  interview  with  such  a  person,  on  such 
an  occasion.  Fausta  assured  me  that  I  might  rely  upon  the 
queen's  generosity,  and  could  look  to  receive  only  the  most 
courteous  reception,  whatever  her  decision  might  be  on  my 
suit.  "  I  fear  greatly  for  your  success, "  said  she,  "  but  pray 
the  gods,  both  for  your  and  the  princess's  sake,  my  fears 
may  not  come  true.  Julia  lives  in  her  affections;  she 
cannot,  like  me,  become  part  of  the  world  abroad,  and 


238  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

doubly  live  in  its  various  action.  She  loves  Zenobia  in 
deed  with  the  truest  affection,  but  she  has  given  her  heart  to 
you,  Lucius,  and  disappointment  here  would  feed  upon  her 
very  life.  She  ought  not  to  be  denied.  She  cannot  bear 
it.  Yet  Zenobia,  devoured  by  ambition,  and  holding  so 
little  sympathy  with  human  hearts  in  their  mutual  loves  — 
all  the  world  to  them  —  may  deny  her,  nor  ever  half  con 
ceive  the  misery  she  will  inflict  upon  a  being  she  loves  and 
even  reveres.  Press  your  cause,  Lucius,  with  a  manly 
boldness.  The  gods  aid  you. " 

The  queen  received  me  graciously,  but  with  a  fixed  and 
almost  severe  countenance.  She  expressed  herself  obliged 
to  me  for  the  early  knowledge  of  what  otherwise  she  had 
not  so  much  as  suspected.  "  Living  myself, "  said  she,  "  far 
above  any  dependence  upon  love  for  my  happiness,  I  am 
not  prone  to  see  the  affection  in  others.  The  love  which 
fastens  upon  objects  because  they  are  worthy,  I  can  under 
stand  and  honour.  But  that  mad  and  blind  passion,  which 
loves  only  because  it  will  love,  which  can  render  no  reason 
for  its  existence  but  a  hot  and  capricious  fancy,  I  have  had 
no  experience  of  in  my  own  heart,  and,  where  I  see  it,  I 
have  no  feeling  for  it  but  one  of  disapprobation  or  contempt. 
If  it  be  but  the  beauty  of  Julia  which  has  bewitched  thy 
fancy,  Koman,  amuse  thyself  with  a  brief  tour  of  pleasure, 
either  to  Antioch  or  Alexandria,  and  other  objects  will  greet 
thee,  and  soon  drive  her  from  thy  thoughts.  " 

I  assured  her  that  my  regard  was  not  only  of  this  kind. 
That,  indeed,  her  transcendent  beauty  had  first  won  me, 
but  that  other  qualities  retained  me.  That  the  bond  which 
held  me  was  as  much  friendship  as  love,  and,  I  might  say, 
as  much  reverence  as  friendship. 

"  The  greater  the  pity,  Eoman, "  rejoined  the  queen,  in  a 
voice  somewhat  stern,  but  yet  melancholy, —  "  the  greater 
the  pity.  In  truth,  I  had  hoped  yours  was  but  the  love  of 
the  painted  image,  and  might,  without  pain,  be  transferred 
to  another,  painted  but  as  well.  Yet,  had  I  reflected  upon 
the  sentiments  I  have  heard  from  thee,  I  might  have  judged 
thee  nobler.  But,  Piso,  this  must  not  be.  Were  I  to  look 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.  239 

only  to  myself  and  Julia,  I  might  well  be  pleased  with  a 
tie  that  bound  us  to  one  whom  I  have  such  weighty  reasons 
to  respect  and  honour.  But  to  do  this  I  have  no  right.  I 
am  not  my  own,  but  the  state's.  Julia  is  no  daughter  of 
mine,  but  the  property  of  Palmyra.  Marriage  is  one  of  the 
chief  bonds  of  nations,  as  of  families.  Were  it  not  a  crime 
in  me,  with  selfish  regard  to  my  own  or  my  daughter's 
pleasure,  to  bestow  her  upon  a  private  citizen,  of  whatever 
worth,  when,  espousing  her  to  some  foreign  prince,  a  pro 
vince  or  a  kingdom  may  be  won  or  saved  ?  " 

"  But, "  I  ventured  to  remark,  "  are  the  hearts  of  princes 
and  princesses  to  be  bartered  away  for  power  or  territory  ? 
Are  the  affections  to  be  bought  and  sold  ?  Is  the  question 
of  happiness  to  be  no  question  in  their  case  ?  " 

"  By  no  means  the  principal  one.  It  is  not  necessarily 
a  sacrifice;  but,  if  necessary,  the  sacrifice  must  be  made. 
The  world  envies  the  lot  of  those  who  sit  upon  thrones. 
But  the  seat  is  not  without  its  thorns.  It  seems  all  sum 
mer  with  them.  But  upon  whom  burst  more  storms,  or 
charged  with  redder  fury  ?  They  seem  to  the  unreflecting 
mind  to  be  the  only  independent,  while  they  are  the  slaves 
of  all.  The  prosperous  citizen  may  link  himself  and  his 
children  when  and  with  whom  he  likes,  and  none  may 
gainsay  him.  He  has  but  to  look  to  himself  and  his 
merest  whim.  The  royal  family  must  go  and  ask  his  leave. 
My  children  are  more  his  than  mine.  And  if  it  be  his 
pleasure  and  preference  that  my  daughters  ally  themselves 
to  an  Indian  or  a  Roman  prince,  their  will  is  done,  not 
mine, —  theirs  is  the  gain,  mine  the  loss.  Were  it  just  that 
when  joining  hands,  though  not  hearts,  two  nations  could 
be  knit  together  in  amity,  the  royal  house  should  refuse  the 
sacrifice  ?  Roman,  I  live  for  Palmyra.  I  have  asked  of  the 
gods  my  children,  not  for  my  own  pleasure,  but  for  Pal 
myra's  sake.  I  should  give  the  lie  to  my  whole  life,  to 
every  sentiment  I  have  harboured  since  that  day  I  gave  my 
self  to  the  royal  Odenatus,  were  I  now  to  bestow  upon  a 
private  citizen,  her,  through  whom  we  have  so  long  looked 
to  ally  ourselves  by  a  new  and  stronger  bond  to  some  neigh- 


240  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

bouring  kingdom.  Julia,  Roman, —  you  have  seen  her,  you 
know  her,  you  can  appreciate  her  more  that  human  quali 
ties, —  Julia  is  the  destined  bride  of  Hormisdas.  By  her, 
on  Sapor's  death,  do  we  hope  to  bind  together,  by  chains 
never  to  be  afterwards  sundered,  Persia  and  Palmyra,  who, 
then  leagued  by  interest  and  affection,  may,  as  one  king 
dom,  stand  up  with  the  more  hope  against  the  overwhelm 
ing  force  of  Rome.  Were  I  justified  to  forego  this  advantage 
for  any  private  reason?  Can  you  doubt,  were  I  not  con 
strained  to  act  otherwise,  whether  I  should  prefer  some 
nobleman  of  Palmyra,  or  thee,  that  so  I  might  ever  dwell 
within  the  charmed  influence  of  one  from  whom  to  part 
will  be  like  the  pang  of  death  ?  " 

"  But  the  princess, "  I  again  urged. 

"  That  is  scarcely  a  question, "  she  rejoined.  "  She  may 
be  a  sacrifice;  but  it  will  be  upon  her  country's  altar. 
How  many  of  our  brave  soldiers,  how  many  of  our  great 
officers,  with  devoted  patriotism,  throw  away  their  lives  for 
their  country !  You  will  not  say  that  this  is  done  for  the 
paltry  recompense,  which  at  best  scarce  shields  the  body 
from  the  icy  winds  of  winter,  or  the  scorching  rays  of  sum 
mer.  And  shall  not  a  daughter  of  the  royal  house  stand 
ready  to  encounter  the  hardships  of  a  throne,  the  dangers 
of  a  Persian  court,  and  the  terrors  of  a  royal  husband,  es 
pecially  when  by  doing  so  fierce  and  bloody  wars  may  be 
stayed,  and  nations  brought  into  closer  unity  ?  I  know  but 
little  of  Hormisdas ;  report  speaks  well  of  him.  But  were  it 
much  less  than  I  know,  and  were  report  yet  less  favourable, 
it  were  not  enough  to  turn  me  from  my  purpose.  Palmyra 
married  to  Persia,  through  Julia  married  to  Hormisdas,  is 
that  upon  which  I  and  my  people  dwell. " 

"  Better  a  thousand  times, "  I  then  said,  "  to  be  born  to  the 
lot  of  the  humblest  peasant, — a  slave's  is  no  worse. " 

"  Upon  love's  calendar,"  said  the  queen,  "  so  it  is.  But 
have  I  not  freely  admitted,  Roman,  the  dependency,  nay, 
slavery  of  a  royal  house?  It  would  grieve  my  mother's 
heart,  I  need  scarce  assure  thee,  were  Julia  unhappy.  But 
grief  to  me  might  bring  joy  to  two  kingdoms.  " 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.  241 

I  then  could  not  but  urge  the  claims  of  my  own  family, 
and  that  by  a  more  powerful  and  honoured  one  she  could 
not  ally  herself  to  Kome,  —  and  might  not  national  interest 
be  as  well  promoted  by  such  a  bond,  as  one  with  the  re 
moter  East  ?  —  I  was  the  friend,  too,  of  Aurelian,  much  in 
his  confidence  and  regard. 

Zenobia  paused,  and  was  for  a  few  moments  buried  in 
thought.  A  faint  smile  for  the  first  time  played  over  her 
features  as  she  said  in  reply,  "  I  wish  for  your  sake  and 
Julia's  it  could  be  so.  But  it  is  too  late.  Kome  is  resolved 
upon  the  ruin  of  Palmyra;  she  cannot  be  turned  aside. 
Aurelian  for  worlds  would  not  lose  the  glory  of  subduing 
the  East.  The  greater  need  of  haste  in  seeking  a  union 
with  Persia.  Were  Sapor  dead  to-day,  to-morrow  an  em 
bassy  should  start  for  Ecbatana.  But  think  not,  Piso,  I 
harbour  ill  toward  you,  or  hold  your  offer  in  contempt.  A 
queen  of  the  East  might  not  disdain  to  join  herself  to  a 
family  whose  ancestors  were  like  yours.  That  Piso  who 
was  once  the  rival,  and  in  power  —  not  indeed,  in  virtue  — 
the  equal  of  the  great  Germanicus,  and  looked  not  without 
show  of  reason  to  the  seat  of  Tiberius;  and  he  who  so 
many  years  and  with  such  honour  reigned  over  the  city  its 
unequalled  governor;  and  thou  the  descendant  and  com 
panion  of  princes, —  an  alliance  with  such  might  well  be 
an  object  of  ambition  with  even  crowned  heads.  And  it 
may  well  be  —  seeing  the  steps  by  which  many  an  emperor 
of  Kome  has  climbed  upon  his  precarious  seat  —  that  the 
coming  years  may  behold  thee  in  the  place  which  Aurelian 
fills,  and,  were  I  to  pleasure  thee  in  thy  request,  Julia 
empress  of  the  world !  The  vision  dazzles !  But  it  cannot 
be.  It  would  be  sad  recreancy  to  my  most  sacred  duty,  were 
I,  falling  in  love  with  a  dream,  to  forsake  a  great  reality.  " 

"  I  may  not  then  —  "I  began. 

"  No,  Piso,  you  may  not  even  hope.  I  have  reasoned 
with  you  because  I  honour  you.  But  think  not  that  I 
hesitate  or  waver.  Julia  can  never  be  yours.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  the  state,  and  to  a  state  must  be  espoused. 
Seek  not,  therefore,  any  more  to  deepen  the  place  which  you 

16 


242  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

hold  in  her  affections.  Canst  thou  not  be  a  friend,  and 
leave  the  lover  out?  Friendship  is  a  sentiment  worthy 
godlike  natures,  and  is  the  true  sweetener  of  the  cup  of  life. 
Love  is  at  best  but  a  bitter  sweet ;  and  when  sweetest,  it  is 
the  friendship  mingled  with  it  that  makes  it  so;  and  it 
wastes  away  with  years.  Friendship  is  eternal;  it  rests 
upon  qualities  that  are  a  part  of  the  soul.  The  witchery  of 
the  outward  image  helps  not  to  make  it,  nor,  being  lost  as 
it  is  with  age,  can  dissolve  it.  Friendship  agrees,  too,  with 
ambition,  while  love  is  its  most  dreaded  rival.  Need  I 
point  to  Antony  ?  If,  Piso,  thou  wouldst  live  the  worthy 
heir  of  thy  great  name ;  if  thou  wouldst  build  for  thyself 
a  throne  in  the  esteem  of  mankind, —  admit  friendship,  but 
bar  out  love.  And  I  trust  to  hear  that  thou  art  great  in 
Home, — greater  even  than  thine  ancestor,  Galba's  adopted 
son.  Aim  at  even  the  highest,  and  the  arrow,  if  it  reach  it 
not,  will  hit  the  nearer.  When  thou  art  Csesar,  send  me  an 
embassy.  Then,  perhaps  —  " 

She  closed  with  that  radiant  smile  that  subdues  all  to  her 
will,  her  manner  at  the  same  time  giving  me  to  understand 
that  the  conversation  was  ended,  her  own  sentence  being 
left  playfully  unfinished. 

I  urged  not  many  things  which  you  may  well  suppose  it 
came  into  my  mind  to  do,  for  I  neither  wished,  nor  did  I 
feel  as  if  I  had  a  right,  at  an  hour  of  so  much  public  in 
quietude,  to  say  ought  to  add  to  the  burden  already  weigh 
ing  upon  her.  Besides,  it  occurred  to  me,  that  when  within 
so  short  a  time  great  public  changes  may  take  place,  and  the 
relations  of  parties  be  so  essentially  altered,  it  was  not  worth 
while  to  give  utterance  to  sentiments  which  the  lapse  of  a 
brief  period  might  show  to  have  been  unnecessary  and  un 
wise.  I  may  also  add  that  the  presence  of  this  great 
woman  is  so  imposing,  she  seems,  in  the  very  nature  and 
form  the  gods  have  given  her,  to  move  so  far  above  the  rest 
of  her  kind,  that  I  found  it  impossible  both  to  say  what  I 
had  intended  to  say,  and  to  express  what  I  did  say  with  the 
ease  and  propriety  which  are  common  to  me  on  ordinary  or 
other  extraordinary  occasions.  They  are  few,  I  believe,  who 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.          243 

possess  themselves  fully  in  her  presence.     Even  Longinus 
confesses  a  restraint. 

"  It  is  even  as  I  apprehended, "  said  Fausta,  as  I  commu 
nicated  to  her  the  result  of  my  interview  with  the  queen. 
"  I  know  her  heart  to  have  been  set  upon  a  foreign  alliance 
by  marriage  with  Julia,  and  that  she  has  been  looking  for 
ward  with  impatience  to  the  time  when  her  daughters 
should  be  of  an  age  to  add  in  this  way  new  strength  to  the 
kingdom.  I  rather  hoped,  than  had  faith,  that  she  would 
listen  to  your  proposals.  I  thought  that,  perhaps,  the  ear 
nestness  of  the  princess,  with  the  queen's  strong  affection 
for  her,  together  with  the  weight  of  your  family  and  name 
might  prevail.  But,  then,  I  have  asked  myself  if  it  were 
reasonable  to  indulge  such  a  hope.  The  queen  is  right  in 
stating,  as  she  did,  her  dependence, —  in  some  sort  —  upon 
the  people.  It  is  they,  as  well  as  she,  who  are  looking  for 
ward  to  this  Persian  marriage.  I  know  not  what  discon 
tents  would  break  out  were  Hormisdas  postponed  to  Piso  — 
Persia  to  Eome.  My  position,  Lucius,  I  think  a  sadder  one 
than  Zenobia's.  I  love  Julia  as  dearly  as  Zenobia,  and  you 
a  great  deal  more  than  Zenobia  does,  and  would  fain  see 
you  happy;  and  yet  I  love  Palmyra,  I  dare  not  say  how 
much,  nor  that  —  if  by  such  an  act  good  might  come  to 
my  country  —  I  could  almost  wish  that  Julia  should  live  in 
Persia. " 

I  have  within  me  a  better  ground  of  hope  than  is  guessed 
either  by  the  queen  or  Fausta,  but  yet  can  name  it  not.  I 
mention  this  to  you,  and  pass  to  other  things. 

The  city  has  to-day  been  greatly  moved,  owing  to  the 
expected  audience  of  our  ambassadors  before  the  council, 
and  their  final  answer.  The  streets  are  thronged  with 
multitudes  not  engaged  in  the  active  affairs  of  traffic,  but 
standing  in  larger  or  smaller  crowds  talking,  and  hearing 
or  telling  news,  as  it  arrives  from  the  palace,  or  from 
abroad. 

The  die  is  cast.  The  ambassadors  are  dismissed.  The 
decision  of  the  council  has  been  confirmed  by  the  senate, 
and  Varro  and  Petronius  have,  with  their  train,  departed 


244  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYKA. 

from  the  city.  War,  therefore,  is  begun.  For  it  was  the 
distinct  language  of  the  embassy,  that  no  other  terms  need 
be  proposed,  or  would  be  accepted,  beside  those  offered  by 
them.  None  others  have  been  offered  on  the  part  of  Pal 
myra.  And  the  ambassadors  have  been  delayed,  rather  to 
avoid  the  charge  of  unreasonable  precipitancy,  than  in  the 
belief  that  the  public  mind  would  incline  to,  or  permit,  any 
reply  more  moderate  than  that  which  they  have  borne  back 
to  the  emperor. 

It  is  understood  that  Aurelian,  with  an  army  perfectly 
equipped,  stands  waiting,  ready  to  start  for  Asia  on  the 
arrival  of  the  ambassadors  or  their  couriers.  From  your 
last  letters  I  gather  as  much.  How,  again  I  ask, —  as  I 
have  often  asked  both  myself  and  the  principal  persons 
here, —  how  is  it  possible  there  should  be  but  one  issue 
to  this  contest  ?  Yet  from  the  language  which  I  heard  in 
the  senate,  as  well  as  in  the  private  apartments  of  the 
queen,  there  is  a  mad  confidence  that  after  a  battle  or  two 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  kingdom,  in  which  they  shall  con 
quer  as  always  heretofore,  an  advantageous  peace  will  end 
the  contest.  In  the  senate,  scarce  a  voice  was  raised  for 
concession ;  its  mere  mention  was  enough  to  bring  down  the 
most  bitter  charges  of  a  want  of  patriotism, —  a  Eoman  bear 
ing,  a  sordid  regard  to  the  interests  of  commerce  over  those 
of  honour,  a  poor  and  low-minded  spirit.  Such  as  had 
courage  to  lift  up  a  warning  voice  were  soon  silenced  by  the 
universal  clamour  of  the  opposite  party ;  and  although  the 
war  was  opposed  by  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  kingdom, 
men  inferior  to  none  of  those  who  have  come  more  espe 
cially  within  my  notice,  and  whom  I  have  named  to  you, 
yet  it  is  termed  a  unanimous  decision,  and  so  will  be  re 
ported  at  Eome. 

The  simple  truth  is,  however,  that,  with  the  exception 
of  these  very  few,  there  is  no  independent  judgment  in 
Palmyra,  on  great  national  questions.  The  queen  is  all 
in  all  She  is  queen,  council,  and  senate.  Here  are  the 
forms  of  a  republican  deliberation  with  the  reality  of  a 
despotic  will.  Not  that  Zenobia  is  a  despotic  prince  in 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.  245 

any  bad  sense  of  the  term,  but  being  of  so  exalted  a  char 
acter,  ruling  with  such  equity  and  wisdom,  moreover  hav 
ing  created  the  kingdom  by  her  own  unrivalled  energies 
and  genius,  it  has  become  the  habit  of  the  people  to  defer 
to  her  in  all  things ;  their  confidence  and  love  are  so  deep 
and  fervent  that  they  have  no  will  nor  power  now,  I  be 
lieve,  to  oppose  her  in  any  measure  she  might  propose. 
The  city  and  country  of  Palmyra  proper  are  her  property, 
in  as  real  a  sense  as  my  five  hundred  slaves  on  my  Tibur- 
tine  farm  are  mine.  Nor  is  it  very  much  otherwise  with 
many  of  the  nearer  allied  provinces.  The  same  enthusiasm 
pervades  them.  Her  watchfulness  over  their  interests ;  her 
impartiality ;  her  personal  oversight  of  them,  by  means  of 
the  frequent  passages  she  makes  among  them, —  have  all 
contributed  to  knit  them  to  her  by  the  closest  ties.  With 
the  more  remote  portions  of  the  empire  it  is  very  different, 
and  it  would  require  the  operation  of  but  slight  causes  to 
divide  from  their  allegiance  Egypt,  Armenia,  and  the  pro 
vinces  of  Asia  Minor. 

How  is  not  this  rashness,  this  folly,  to  be  deplored! 
Could  the  early  counsels  of  Longinus  have  been  but  heeded, 
all  had  been  well.  But  he  is  now  as  much  devoted  to  the 
will  and  interests  of  Zenobia  as  any  in  the  kingdom,  and 
lends  all  the  energies  of  his  great  mind  to  the  promotion  of 
her  cause.  He  said  truly,  that  he,  like  others,  is  but  a 
slave  yoked  to  her  car.  His  opinion  now  is,  that  no  con 
cessions  would  avail  to  preserve  the  independent  existence 
of  Palmyra.  The  question  lies  between  war,  and  a  volun 
tary  descent  to  the  condition  of  a  Eoman  province.  Noth 
ing  less  than  that  will  satisfy  the  ambition  and  the  pride 
of  Home.  The  first  step  may  be  such  as  that  proposed  by 
Varro, —  the  lopping  off  of  the  lately  conquered  provinces, 
leaving  Zenobia  the  city,  circumjacent  territory,  and  Syria. 
But  a  second  step  would  soon  follow  the  first,  and  the  foot  of 
Aurelian  would  plant  itself  upon  the  neck  of  Zenobia  herself. 
This  he  felt  assured  of, — both  from  observation  upon  the 
Eoman  character  and  history,  upon  the  personal  character  of 
Aurelian,  and  from  private  advices  from  Kome.  He  is  now, 


246  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

accordingly,  the  moving  spirit  of   the  enterprise, — going 
with  all  his  heart  and  mind  into  every  measure  of  the  queen. 

I  am  just  returned  from  a  singular  adventure.  My  hand 
trembles  as  I  write.  I  had  laid  down  my  pen  and  gone  forth 
upon  my  Arab,  accompanied  by  Milo,  to  refresh  and  in 
vigorate  my  frame  after  our  late  carousal  —  shall  I  term  it  ? 
—  at  the  palace.  I  took  my  way,  as  I  often  do,  to  the  Long 
Portico,  that  I  might  again  look  upon  its  faultless  beauty 
and  watch  the  changing  crowds.  Turning  from  that,  I  then 
amused  my  vacant  mind  by  posting  myself  where  I  could 
overlook,  as  if  I  were  indeed  the  builder  or  superintendent, 
the  labourers  upon  the  column  of  Aurelian.  I  became  at 
length  particularly  interested  in  the  efforts  of  a  huge  ele 
phant,  who  was  employed  in  dragging  up  to  the  foundations 
of  the  column,  so  that  they  might  be  fastened  to  machines 
to  be  then  hoisted  to  their  place,  enormous  blocks  of  marble. 
He  was  a  noble  animal,  and,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  of  far  more 
than  common  size  and  strength.  Yet  did  not  his  utmost 
endeavours  appear  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  those  who  drove 
him,  and  who  plied  without  mercy  the  barbed  scourges  which 
they  bore.  His  temper  at  length  gave  way.  He  was 
chained  to  a  mass  of  rock  which  it  was  evidently  beyond 
his  power  to  move.  It  required  the  united  strength  of  two 
at  least.  But  this  was  nothing  to  his  inhuman  masters. 
They  ceased  not  to  urge  him  with  cries  and  blows.  One  of 
them,  at  length  transported  by  that  insane  fury  which  seizes 
the  vulgar  when  their  will  is  not  done  by  the  brute  crea 
tion,  laid  hold  upon  a  long  lance,  terminated  with  a  sharp 
iron  goad  long  as  my  sword,  and  rushing  upon  the  beast, 
drove  it  into  his  hinder  part.  At  that  very  moment  the 
chariot  of  the  queen,  containing  Zenobia  herself,  Julia  and 
the  other  princesses,  came  suddenly  against  the  column,  on 
its  way  to  the  palace.  I  made  every  possible  sign  to  the 
charioteer  to  turn  and  fly.  But  it  was  too  late.  The  in 
furiated  monster  snapped  the  chains  that  held  him  to  the 
stone  at  a  single  bound,  as  the  iron  entered  him,  and  tram 
pling  to  death  one  of  his  drivers,  dashed  forward  to  wreak 


LOVE,  AND  A   CAPTIVE  FREED.  247 

his  vengeance  upon  the  first  object  that  should  come  in  his 
way.  That,  to  the  universal  terror  and  distraction  of  the 
gathered,  but  now  scattered  and  flying,  crowds,  was  the 
chariot  of  the  queen.  Her  mounted  guards  at  the  first 
onset  of  the  maddened  animal  put  spurs  to  their  horses, 
and  by  quick  leaps  escaped.  The  horses  attached  to  the 
chariot,  springing  forward  to  do  the  same,  urged  by  the  lash 
of  the  charioteer,  were  met  by  the  elephant,  with  straight 
ened  trunk  and  tail,  who,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
wreathed  his  proboscis  around  the  neck  of  the  first  he  en 
countered,  and  wrenching  him  from  his  harness,  whirled 
him  aloft  and  dashed  him  to  the  ground.  This  I  saw  was 
the  moment  to  save  the  life  of  the  queen,  if  it  was  indeed 
to  be  saved.  Snatching  from  a  flying  soldier  his  long  spear, 
and  knowing  well  the  temper  of  my  horse,  I  put  him  to  his 
speed,  and  running  upon  the  monster  as  he  disengaged  his 
trunk  from  the  crushed  and  dying  Arabian  for  a  new  assault, 
I  drove  it  with  unerring  aim  into  his  eye,  and  through  that 
opening  on  into  the  brain.  He  fell  as  if  a  bolt  from  heaven 
had  struck  him.  The  terrified  and  struggling  horses  of  the 
chariot  were  secured  by  the  now  returning  crowds,  and  the 
queen,  with  the  princesses,  relieved  from  the  peril  which 
was  so  imminent,  and  had  blanched  with  terror  every  cheek 
but  Zenobia's.  She  had  stood  the  while,  I  was  told, — 
there  being  no  exertion  which  she  could  make, — watching 
with  eager  and  intense  gaze  my  movements,  upon  which  she 
felt  that  their  safety,  perhaps  their  lives,  depended. 

It  all  passed  in  a  moment.  Soon  as  I  drew  out  my  spear 
from  the  dying  animal,  the  air  was  rent  with  the  shouts  of 
the  surrounding  populace.  Surely  at  that  moment  I  was 
the  greatest,  at  least  the  most  fortunate,  man  in  Pal 
myra.  These  approving  shouts,  but  still  more,  the  few 
words  uttered  by  Zenobia  and  Julia,  were  more  than  recom 
pense  enough  for  the  small  service  I  had  performed ;  espe 
cially,  however,  the  invitation  of  the  queen. 

"  But  come,  noble  Piso,  leave  not  the  work  half  done ;  we 
need  now  a  protector  for  the  remainder  of  the  way.  Ascend, 
if  you  will  do  us  such  pleasure,  and  join  us  to  the  palace. " 


248  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

I  needed  no  repeated  urging,  but  taking  the  offered  seat 
• — whereupon  new  acclamations  went  up  from  the  now 
augmented  throngs  —  I  was  driven,  as  I  conceived,  in  a  sort 
of  triumph  to  the  palace,  where  passing  an  hour,  which,  it 
seems  to  me,  held  more  than  all  the  rest  of  my  life,  I  have 
now  returned  to  my  apartment,  and  relate  what  has  hap 
pened  for  your  entertainment.  You  will  not  wonder  that 
for  many  reasons  my  hand  trembles,  and  my  letters  are  not 
formed  with  their  accustomed  exactness. 

Again  I  am  interrupted.  What  can  be  the  meaning  of 
the  noise  and  running  to  and  fro  which  I  hear  ?  Some  one, 
with  a  quick,  light  foot,  approaches. 

It  is  now  night.  The  palace  is  asleep ;  but  I  take  again 
my  pen  to  tell  you  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  dear  object 
for  which  I  have  wandered  to  this  distant  spot.  Calpurnius 
is  arrived. 

The  quick,  light  foot  by  which  I  was  disturbed  was 
Fausta's.  I  knew  it,  and  sprang  to  the  door.  She  met 
me  with  her  bright  and  glowing  countenance  bursting 
with  expression,  "  Calpurnius !  "  said  she,  "  your  brother, 
is  here  — "  and,  seizing  my  hand,  drew  me  to  the  apartment 
where  he  sat  by  the  side  of  Gracchus,  Isaac,  with  his  in 
separable  pack,  standing  near. 

I  need  not,  as  I  cannot,  describe  our  meeting.  It  was  the 
meeting  of  brothers,  yet  of  strangers ;  and  a  confusion  of 
wonder,  curiosity,  vague  expectation,  and  doubt  possessed 
the  soul  of  each.  I  trust  and  believe  that  notwithstanding 
the  different  political  bias  which  sways  each,  the  ancient 
ties  which  bound  us  together  as  brothers  will  again  unite 
us.  The  countenance  of  Calpurnius,  though  dark  and  al 
most  stern  in  its  general  expression,  yet  unbends  and 
relaxes  frequently  and  suddenly,  in  a  manner  that  im 
presses  you  forcibly  with  an  inward  humanity  as  the  pre 
siding  though  often  concealed  quality  of  his  nature.  I  can 
trace  faintly  the  features  which  have  been  stamped  upon 
my  memory,  and  the  form,  too, —  chiefly  by  the  recollected 
scene  of  that  bright  morning  when  he,  with  our  elder 
brother  and  venerable  parent,  gave  us  each  a  last  embrace, 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.          249 

as  they  started  for  the  tents  of  Valerian.  A  warmer  cli 
mate  has  deepened  the  olive  of  his  complexion,  and  at  the 
same  time  added  brilliancy  to  an  eye  by  nature  soft  as  a 
woman's.  His  Persian  dress  increases  greatly  the  effect  of 
his  rare  beauty ;  yet  I  heartily  wish  it  off,  as  it  contributes 
more,  I  believe,  than  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  to  sep 
arate  us.  He  will  not  seem  and  feel  as  a  brother,  till  he 
returns  to  the  costume  of  his  native  land.  How  great  this 
power  of  mere  dress  is  upon  our  affections  and  our  regard, 
you  can  yourself  bear  witness,  when  those  who  parted  from 
you  to  travel  in  foreign  countries  have  returned  metamor 
phosed  into  Greeks,  Egyptians,  or  Persians,  according  to 
the  fashions  that  have  struck  their  foolish  fancies.  The 
assumed  and  foreign  air  chills  the  untravelled  heart  as  it 
greets  them.  They  are  no  longer  the  same.  However  the 
reason  may  strive  to  overcome  what  seems  the  mere  preju 
dice  of  a  wayward  nature,  we  strive  in  vain, —  Nature  will 
be  uppermost, —  and  many,  many  times  have  I  seen  the 
former  friendships  break  away  and  perish. 

I  could  not  but  be  alive  to  the  general  justness  of  the 
comparison  instituted  by  Isaac  between  Calpurnius  and 
Julia.  There  are  many  points  of  resemblance.  The  very 
same  likeness  in  kind  that  we  so  often  observe  between  a 
brother  and  sister, —  such  as  we  have  often  remarked  in  your 
nephew  and  niece,  Drusus  and  Lavinia,  whose  dress  being 
changed,  they  are  changed. 

No  sooner  had  I  greeted  and  welcomed  my  brother,  than 
I  turned  to  Isaac  and  saluted  him,  I  am  persuaded,  with 
scarcely  less  cordiality. 

"  I  sincerely  bless  the  gods, "  said  I,  "  that  you  have  es 
caped  the  perils  of  two  such  passages  through  the  desert, 
and  are  safe  in  Palmyra.  May  every  wish  of  your  heart 
concerning  your  beloved  Jerusalem  be  accomplished.  In 
the  keeping  of  Demetrius  will  you  find  not  only  the  single 
talent  agreed  upon  in  case  you  returned,  but  the  two  which 
were  to  be  paid  had  you  perished.  One  such  tempest  upon 
the  desert,  escaped,  is  more  and  worse  than  death  itself, 
met  softly  upon  one's  bed. " 


250  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Now,  Jehovah  be  praised, "  ejaculated  Isaac,  "  who  him 
self  has  moved  thy  heart  to  this  grace.  Israel  will  feel  this 
bounty  through  every  limb ;  it  will  be  to  her  as  the  oil  of 
life.  " 

"  And  my  debt, "  said  Calpurnius,  "  is  greater  yet,  and 
should  in  reason  be  more  largely  paid.  Through  the  hands 
of  Demetrius  I  will  discharge  it " 

"  We  are  all  bound  to  you, "  said  Fausta,  "  more  than 
words  can  tell  or  money  pay. " 

"  You  owe  more  than  you  are  perhaps  aware  of  to  the 
rhetoric  of  Isaac, "  added  Calpurnius.  "  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  faithful  zeal  and  cunning  of  your  messenger,  in  his 
arguments  not  less  than  his  contrivances,  I  had  hardly  now 
been  sitting  within  the  walls  of  Palmyra. " 

"  But  then  again,  noble  Roman, "  said  Isaac,  "  to  be  hon 
est,  I  ought  to  say  what  I  said  not  —  for  it  had  not  then 
occurred  —  in  my  letter  to  thy  brother,  how,  by  my  indis 
cretion,  I  had  nearly  brought  upon  myself  the  wrath,  even 
unto  death,  of  a  foul  Persian  mob,  and  so  sealed  thy  fate, 
together  with  my  own.  Ye  have  heard,  doubtless,  of  Manes 
the  Persian,  who  deems  himself  some  great  one,  and  sent  of 
God.  It  was  noised  abroad  ere  I  left  Palmyra,  that  for  fail 
ing  in  a  much-boasted  attempt  to  work  a  cure  by  miracle 
upon  the  Prince  Hormisdas,  he  had  been  strangled  by  order 
of  Sapor.  Had  he  done  so,  his  love  of  death-doing  had  at 
length  fallen  upon  a  proper  object,  a  true  child  of  Satan. 
But,  as  I  can  testify,  his  end  was  not  such,  and  is  not  yet. 
He  still  walks  the  earth,  poisoning  the  air  he  breathes,  and 
deluding  the  souls  of  men.  Him  I  encountered  one  day, 
the  very  day  I  had  despatched  thy  letter,  in  the  streets  of 
Ecbatana,  dogged  at  the  heels  by  his  twelve  ragged  apostles, 
dragging  along  their  thin  and  bloodless  limbs,  that  seemed 
each  step  ready  to  give  way  beneath  the  weight  —  little  as 
it  was  —  they  had  to  bear.  Their  master,  puffed  up  with 
the  pride  of  a  reformer, —  as  forsooth  he  holds  himself, — 
stalked  by  at  their  head,  drawing  the  admiration  of  the 
besotted  people  by  his  great  show  of  sanctity,  and  the  wise 
saws  which  every  now  and  then  he  let  drop  for  the  edifica- 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.          251 

tion  of  such  as  heard.  Some  of  these  sayings  fell  upon  my 
ear,  and  how  was  I  to  hear  them  and  not  speak  ?  Ye  may 
know  that  this  false  prophet  has  made  it  his  aim  to  bring 
into  one  the  Magian  and  Christian  superstitions,  so  that  by 
such  incongruous  and  deadly  mixture  he  might  feed  the 
disciples  of  those  two  widely-sundered  religions,  retaining, 
as  he  foolishly  hoped,  enough  of  the  faith  of  each  to  satisfy 
all  who  should  receive  the  compound.  In  doing  this  he 
hath  cast  dirt  upon  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  blasphemously 
teaching  that  our  sacred  books  are  the  work  of  the  author 
of  evil,  while  those  of  Christ  are  by  the  author  of  good. 
With  more  zeal,  it  must  be  confessed,  than  wisdom,  seeing 
where  I  was,  and  why  I  was  there,  I  resisted  this  father  of 
lies,  and  withstood  him  to  his  face.  'Who  art  thou,  bold 
blasphemer,'  I  said,  'that  takest  away  the  Godhead,  break 
ing  into  twain  that  which  is  infinite  and  indivisible  ?  Who 
art  thou,  to  tread  into  the  dust  the  faith  of  Abraham  and 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  imputing  their  words,  uttered  by 
the  spirit  of  Jehovah,  to  the  great  enemy  of  mankind  ?  I 
wonder,  people  of  Ecbatana,  that  the  thunders  of  God  sleep 
and  strike  him  not  to  the  earth  as  a  rebel, — nay,  that  the 
earth  cleaveth  not  beneath  him  and  swalloweth  him  not  up, 
as  once  before  the  rebels  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram, ' —  and 
much  more  in  the  same  mad  way,  till,  while  I  was  yet  speak 
ing,  those  lean  and  hungry  followers  of  his  set  upon  me  with 
violence,  crying  out  against  me  as  a  Jew,  and  stirring  up 
the  people,  who  were  nothing  unwilling,  but  fell  upon  me, 
and  throwing  me  down,  dragged  me  to  a  gate  of  the  city, 
and  casting  me  out  as  if  I  had  been  a  dead  dog,  returned 
themselves,  like  dogs  to  their  vomit,  —  that  accursed  dish  of 
Manichean  garbage.  I  believed  myself  for  a  long  while 
surely  dead ;  and  in  my  half-conscious  state  took  to  myself, 
as  I  was  bound  to  do,  shame  for  meddling  in  the  affairs  of 
Pagan  misbelievers, —  putting  thy  safety  at  risk.  Through 
the  compassion  of  an  Arab  woman  dwelling  without  the 
walls,  I  was  restored  and  healed  —  for  whose  sake  I  shall  ever 
bless  the  Ishmaelite.  I  doubt  not,  Koman,  while  I  lay  at  the 
hut  of  that  good  woman,  thou  thoughtest  me  a  false  man  ?  " 


252  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  I  could  not  but  think  so, "  said  Calpurnius,  '  and  after 
the  strong  desire  of  escape  which  you  had  at  length  kin 
dled,  I  assure  you  I  heaped  curses  upon  you  in  no  stinted 
measure. " 

"  But  all  has  ended  well,  and  so  all  is  well, "  said  Fausta, 
"  and  it  was,  perhaps,  too  much  to  expect,  Isaac,  that  you 
should  stand  quietly  by  and  hear  the  religion  of  your  fathers 
traduced.  You  are  well  rewarded  for  what  you  did  and  suf 
fered,  by  the  light  in  which  your  tribe  will  now  regard  you, 
—  as  an  almost  martyr,  and  owing  to  no  want  of  will  or  en 
deavour  on  your  part,  that  almost  did  not  end  in  quite. 
Hannibal,  good  Isaac,  will  now  see  to  your  entertainment.  " 

"  One  word,  if  it  please  you, "  said  Isaac,  "  before  I  depart. 
The  Gentile  despises  the  Jew.  He  charges  upon  him  usury 
and  extortion.  He  accuses  him  of  avarice.  He  believes 
him  to  subsist  upon  the  very  life-blood  of  whomsoever  he 
can  draw  into  his  meshes.  I  have  known  those  who  have 
firm  faith  that  the  Jew  feeds  but  upon  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  Pagans  and  Christian  infants,  whom,  by  necromantic 
power,  he  beguiles  from  their  homes.  He  is  held  as  the 
common  enemy  of  man  —  a  universal  robber  —  whom  all  are 
bound  to  hate  and  oppress.  Reward  me  now  with  your  be 
lief,  better  than  even  the  two  gold  talents  I  have  earned,  that 
all  are  not  such.  This  is  the  charity,  and  all  that  I  would 
beg ;  and  I  beg  it  of  you,  —  for  that  I  love  you  all,  and  would 
have  your  esteem.  Believe  that  in  the  Jew  there  is  a  heart 
of  flesh  as  well  as  in  a  dog.  Believe  that  some  noble  ambi 
tion  visits  his  mind  as  well  as  yours.  Credit  it  not  —  it  is 
against  nature  —  that  any  tribe  of  man  is  what  you  make 
the  Jew.  Look  upon  me,  and  behold  the  emblem  of  my 
tribe.  What  do  you  see  ?  A  man  bent  with  years  and  toil ; 
this  ragged  tunic  his  richest  garb;  his  face  worn  with 
the  storms  of  all  climates,  a  wanderer  over  the  earth ;  my 
home  —  Piso,  thou  hast  seen  it  —  a  single  room,  with  my 
good  dromedary's  furniture  for  my  bed  at  night,  and  my 
seat  by  day;  this  pack,  my  only  apparent  wealth.  Yet 
here  have  I  now  received  two  gold  talents  of  Jerusalem, — 
what  most  would  say  were  wealth  enough, —  and  this  is  not 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.         253 

the  tithe  of  that  which  I  possess.  What  then  ?  Is  it  for  that 
I  love  obscurity,  slavery,  and  a  beggar's  raiment,  that  I  live 
and  labour  thus,  when  my  wealth  would  raise  me  to  a  prince's 
state  ?  Or  is  it  that  I  love  to  sit  and  count  my  hoarded 
gains  ?  Good  friends,  for  such  you  are,  believe  it  not.  You 
have  found  me  faithful  arid  true  to  my  engagements ;  be 
lieve  my  word  also.  You  have  heard  of  Jerusalem,  once  the 
chief  city  of  the  East,  where  stood  the  great  temple  of  our 
faith,  and  which  was  the  very  heart  of  our  nation,  and  you 
know  how  it  was  beleaguered  by  the  Eomans,  and  its  very 
foundations  rooted  up,  and  her  inhabitants  driven  abroad  as 
outcasts,  to  wander  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  with  every 
where  a  country,  but  nowhere  a  home.  And  does  the  Jew, 
think  you,  sit  down  quietly  under  these  wrongs?  Trajan's 
reign  may  answer  that.  Is  there  no  patriotism  yet  alive  in 
the  bosom  of  a  Jew  ?  Will  every  other  toil  and  die  for  his 
country,  and  not  the  Jew  ?  Believe  me  again,  the  prayers 
which  go  up  morning,  noon,  and  night,  for  the  restoration 
of  Jerusalem,  are  not  fewer  than  those  which  go  up  for  Rome 
or  Palmyra.  And  their  deeds  are  not  less, —  for  every 
prayer  there  are  two  acts.  It  is  for  Jerusalem  that  you 
behold  me  thus  in  rags,  and  yet  rich.  It  is  for  her  glory 
that  I  am  the  servant  of  all  and  the  scorn  of  all,  that  I  a'm 
now  pinched  by  the  winters  of  Byzantium,  now  scorched  by 
the  heats  of  Asia,  and  buried  beneath  the  sands  of  the  des 
ert.  All  that  I  have  and  am  is  for  Jerusalem.  And  in  tell 
ing  you  of  myself,  I  have  told  you  of  my  tribe.  What  we 
do  and  are  is  not  for  ourselves,  but  for  our  country.  Friends, 
the  hour  of  our  redemption  draweth  nigh.  The  Messiah 
treads  in  the  steps  of  Zenobia !  And  when  the  East  shall 
behold  the  disasters  of  Aurelian, —  as  it  will, —  it  "will  be 
hold  the  restoration  of  that  empire  which  is  destined  in 
the  lapse  of  ages  to  gather  to  itself  the  glory  and  dominion 
of  the  whole  earth.  " 

Saying  these  words,  during  which  he  seemed  no  longer 
Isaac  the  Jew,  but  the  very  Prince  of  the  Captivity  himself, 
he  turned  and  took  his  departure. 

Long  and  earnest  conversation  now  ensued,  in  which  we 


254         ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

received  from  Calpurnius  the  most  exact  accounts  of  his  whole 
manner  of  life  during  his  captivity, —  of  his  early  sufferings 
and  disgraces,  and  his  late  honours  and  elevation ;  and  gave, 
in  return,  similar  details  concerning  the  history  of  our  fam 
ily  and  of  Rome,  during  the  same  period  of  time.  I  will 
not  pretend  to  set  down  the  narrative  of  Calpurnius.  It 
was  delivered  with  a  grace  which  I  can  by  no  means  trans 
fer  to  these  pages.  I  trust  you  may  one  day  hear  it  from 
his  own  lips.  Neither  can  I  tell  you  how  beautiful  it  was 
to  see  Fausta  hanging  upon  his.  words,  with  an  attention 
that  made  her  insensible  to  all  else, — her  varying  colour 
and  changing  expression  showing  how  deeply  she  sympa 
thized  with  the  narrator.  When  he  had  ended,  and  we 
had  become  weary  of  the  excitement  of  this  first  interview, 
Fausta  proposed  that  we  should  separate  to  meet  again  at 
supper.  To  this  we  agreed. 

According  to  the  proposal  of  Fausta,  we  were  again,  soon 
as  evening  had  come,  assembled  around  the  table  of  the 
princely  Gracchus. 

When  we  had  partaken  of  the  luxuries  of  the  feast,  and 
various  lighter  discourse  had  caused  the  time  to  pass  by  in 
an  agreeable  manner,  I  said  thus,  turning  to  my  brother :  — 

"  I  would,  Calpurnius,  that  the  temper  of  one's  mind 
could  as  easily  be  changed  as  one's  garments.  You  now 
seem  to  me,  having  put  off  your  Persian  robes,  far  more  like 
Piso  than  before.  Your  dress,  though  but  in  part  Eoman 
and  part  Palmyrene,  still  brings  you  nearer.  Were  it 
wholly  Roman,  it  were  better.  Is  nothing  of  the  Persian 
really  put  off,  and  nothing  of  the  Roman  put  on,  by  this 
change  ?  * 

"  Whatever  of  the  Persian  there  is  about  me, "  replied 
Calpurnius,  "  I  am  free  to  say  I  have  laid  aside  with  my 
Persian  attire.  I  was  a  Persian  not  by  choice  and  prefer 
ence,  I  need  scarcely  assure  you,  but  by  a  sort  of  necessity, — 
just  as  it  was  with  my  costume.  I  could  not  procure  Ro 
man  clothes  if  I  would.  I  could  not  help,  too,  putting  off 
the  Roman  —  seeing  how  I  was  dealt  by  —  and  putting  on 
the  Persian.  Yet  I  part  with  whatever  of  the  Persian  has 


LOVE,  AND   A  CAPTIVE   FREED.  255 

.cleaved  to  me  without  reluctance;  would  it  were  so  that  I 
could  again  assume  the  Koman  —  but  that  can  never  be. 
But  Isaac  has  already  told  you  all. " 

"  Isaac  has  indeed  informed  me,  in  his  letter  from  Ec- 
batana,  that  you  had  renounced  your  country,  and  that  it 
was  the  expectation  of  war  with  Borne  that  alone  had  power 
to  draw  you  from  your  captivity.  But  I  have  not  believed 
that  you  would  stand  by  that  determination.  The  days  of 
republican  patriotism,  I  know,  are  passed ;  but  even  now, 
under  the  empire,  our  country  has  claims,  and  her  children 
owe  her  duties. " 

"  The  figure  is  a  common  one, "  Calpurnius  answered,  "  by 
which  our  country  is  termed  a  parent,  and  we  her  children. 
Allow  it  just.  Do  I  owe  obedience  to  an  unjust  or  tyran 
nical  parent ;  to  one  who  has  abandoned  me  in  helplessness, 
or  exposed  me  in  infancy  ?  Are  not  the  natural  ties  then 
sundered  ?" 

"  I  think  not, "  I  replied ;  "  no  provocation  or  injury  can 
justify  a  parricidal  blow.  Our  parent  is  our  creator, —  in 
some  sense  a  god  to  us.  The  tie  that  binds  us  to  him  is 
like  no  other  tie ;  to  do  it  violence  is  not  only  a  wrong,  but 
an  impiety.  n 

"  I  cannot  think  so, "  he  rejoined.  "  A  parent  is  our 
creator,  not  so  much  for  our  good  as  his  own  pleasure.  In 
the  case  of  the  gods,  this  is  reversed.  They  have  given  us 
being  for  our  advantage,  not  theirs.  We  lie  under  obliga 
tion  to  a  parent,  then,  only  as  he  fulfills  the  proper  duties 
of  one.  When  he  ceases  to  be  virtuous,  the  child  must 
cease  to  respect.  When  he  ceases  to  be  just  or  careful  or 
kind,  the  child  must  cease  to  love.  And  from  whomsoever 
else,  then,  the  child  receives  the  treatment  becoming  a 
parent,  that  person  is  to  him  the  true  parent.  It  is  idle  to 
be  governed  by  names  rather  than  things.  It  is  more,  it  is 
mischievous  and  injurious. " 

"  I  still  am  of  opinion, "  I  replied  "  that  Nature  has  or 
dained  what  I  have  asserted  to  be  an  everlasting  and  uni 
versal  truth,  by  the  instincts  which  she  has  implanted. 
All  men  of  all  tribes  have  united  in  expressions  of  horror 


256  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

against  him  who  does  violence  to  his  parents.  And  have 
not  the  poets  truly  painted,  when  they  have  set  before  us 
the  parricide,  forever  after  the  guilty  act  pursued  by  the 
Furies,  and  delivered  over  to  their  judicial  torments?  " 

"  All  instincts,  *  he  replied,  "  are  not  to  be  defended. 
Some  animals  devour  their  own  young  as  soon  as  born. 
Vice  is  instinctive.  If  it  be  instinctive  to  honour  and  love 
and  obey  a  vicious  parent,  to  be  unresisting  under  the  most 
galling  oppression,  then,  I  say,  the  sooner  reason  usurps  the 
place  of  instinct,  the  safer  for  mankind.  No  error  can  be 
more  gross  or  hurtful,  than  to  respect  vice  because  of  the 
person  in  whom  it  is  embodied,  even  though  that  person  be 
a  parent.  Vice  is  vice ;  injustice  is  injustice ;  wrong  is 
wrong, — wheresoever  they  are  found,  and  are  to  be  detested 
and  withstood.  But  I  might  admit  that  I  am  in  error  here, 
and  still  maintain  my  cause,  by  denying  the  justice  of  the 
figure  by  which  our  country  is  made  our  parent,  and  our 
obligations  to  her  made  to  rest  on  the  same  ground.  It  is 
mere  fancy  —  it  is  a  nullity  —  unless  it  be  true,  as  I  think 
it  is,  that  it  has  been  the  source  of  great  mischiefs  to  the 
world,  in  which  case  it  cannot  be  termed  nullity,  but  some 
thing  positively  pernicious.  What  age  of  the  world  can  be 
named,  when  an  insane  devotion  to  one's  country  has  not 
been  the  mother  of  war  upon  war,  evil  upon  evil,  beyond 
the  power  of  memory  to  recount?  Patriotism  —  standing 
for  this  instinctive  slavery  of  the  will  — has  cursed  as  much 
as  it  has  blessed  mankind.  Men  have  not  reasoned,  they 
have  only  felt.  They  have  not  inquired,  is  the  cause  of  my 
country  just  — but,  is  it  her  cause  ?  That  has  ever  been  the 
cry  in  B-ome.  '  Our  country !  our  country !  right  or  wrong, 
our  country ! '  It  is  a  maxim  good  for  conquest  and  des 
potism;  bad,  for  peace  and  justice.  It  has  made  Koine 
mistress  of  the  world,  and  at  the  same  time  the  scourge  of 
the  world,  and  trodden  down  into  their  own  blood-stained 
soil  the  people  of  many  a  clime,  who  had  else  dwelt  in 
freedom.  I  am  no  Eoman  in  this  sense,  and  ought  never  to 
have  been.  Admit  that  I  am  not  justified  in  raising  my 
hand  against  the  life  of  a  parent, —  though,  if  I  could  de- 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.  257 

fend  myself  against  violence  no  otherwise,  I  should  raise 
that  hand, —  I  will  never  allow  that  I  am  to  approve  and 
second  with  my  best  blood  all  the  acts  of  my  country ;  but 
when  she  errs,  am  bound  —  on  the  other  hand  —  to  blame, 
end,  if  need  be,  oppose.  Why  not  ?  What  is  this  country  ? 
Men  like  myself.  Who  enact  the  degrees  by  which  I  am  to 
be  thus  bound?  Senators,  no  more  profoundly  wise,  per 
haps,  and  no  more  irreproachably  virtuous  than  myself. 
And  do  I  owe  their  judgments  a  dearer  allegiance  —  and 
which  I  esteem  false  —  than  I  do  to  my  own,  which  I  es 
teem  right  and  true  ?  Never.  Such  patriotism  is  a  degra 
dation  and  a  vice.  Koine,  Lucius,  I  think  to  have  dealt  by 
me  and  the  miserable  men  who,  with  me,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Sapor,  after  the  manner  of  a  selfish,  cold-hearted,  un 
natural  parent,  and  I  renounce  her,  and  allegiance  to  her. 
I  am  from  this  hour  a  Palmyrene,—  Zenobia  is  my  mother, 
Palmyra  my  country. " 

"  But, "  I  could  not  but  still  urge,  "  should  no  distinction 
be  made  between  your  country  and  her  emperor  ?  Is  the 
country  to  rest  under  the  imputation  which  is  justly,  per 
haps,  cast  upon  its  men?  That  were  hardly  right.  To 
renounce  Gallienus,  were  he  now  emperor,  were  a  defen 
sible  act.  But  why  Rome  or  Aurelian  ?  " 

"  I  freely  grant  that  had  a  just  emperor  been  upon  the 
throne,  —  a  man  with  humane  feelings,  —  the  people,  had  he 
projected  our  rescue  or  revenge,  would  have  gone  with  him. 
But  how  is  their  conduct  to  be  defended  during  the  long 
reign  of  the  son  of  Valerian  ?  Was  such  a  people  as  the 
people  of  Rome  to  conform  their  minds  and  acts  to  a  mon 
ster  like  him  ?  Was  that  the  part  of  a  great  nation  ?  Is  it 
credible  that  the  senate  and  the  people  together  had  no 
power  to  compel  Gallienus  to  the  performance  of  his  duties 
to  his  own  father,  and  the  brave  legions  who  fell  with 
him?  Alas!  they,  too,  wanted  the  will." 

"  Oh,  not  so,  Calpurnius, "  I  rejoined ;  "  Gallienus  wished 
the  death  or  the  captivity  of  his  father  that  he  might  reign. 
To  release  him  was  the  last  act  that  wretch  could  have  been 
urged  to  do.  And  could  he,  then,  have  been  made  to  inter- 

17 


258  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

pose  for  the  others?  He  might  have  been  assassinated; 
but  all  the  power  of  Eome  could  not  have  compelled  him  to 
a  war,  the  issue  of  which  might  have  been,  by  the  rescue  of 
Valerian,  to  lose  him  his  throne.  " 

"  Then  he  should  have  been  assassinated.  Eome  owed 
herself  a  greater  duty  than  allegiance  to  a  beast  in  human 
form. " 

"  But,  Calpurnius,  you  are  now  at  liberty.  Why  con 
sider  so  curiously  whence  it  comes  ?  Besides,  you  have, 
while  in  Persia,  dwelt  in  comfort,  and  at  last  even  in  mag 
nificence.  The  prince  himself  has  been  your  companion  and 
friend. " 

"  What  was  it,"  he  replied, —  "  what  was  it,  when  I  re 
flected  upon  myself,  but  so  much  deeper  degradation  to  find 
that,  in  spite  of  myself,  I  was  every  day  sinking  deeper  and 
deeper  in  Persian  effeminacy  ?  What  was  it  but  the  worst 
wretchedness  of  all  to  feel,  as  I  did,  that  I,  a  Koman  and  a 
Piso,  was  losing  my  nature  as  I  had  lost  my  country  ?  If 
anything  seemed  to  turn  my  blood  into  one  hot  current  of 
bitterness  and  revenge,  it  was  this.  It  will  never  cool  till 
I  find  myself,  sword  in  hand,  under  the  banners  of  Zenobia. 
Urge  me  no  more.  It  were  as  hopeful  an  endeavour  to  stem 
the  current  of  the  Euphrates,  as  to  turn  me  from  my  pur 
pose.  I  have  reasoned  with  you  because  you  are  a  brother, 
—  not  because  you  are  a  Eoman.  " 

"  And  I,  *  I  replied,  "  can  still  love  you, —  because  you  are 
a  brother,  nor  less  because  you  are  also  a  Palmyrene.  I 
greet  you  as  the  head  of  our  house,  the  elder  heir  of  an 
illustrious  name.  I  still  will  hope,  that  when  these  troubles 
cease,  Kome  may  claim  you  as  her  own. " 

"  No  emperor, "  he  answered,  "  unless  he  were  a  Piso,  I 
fear,  would  permit  a  renegade  of  such  rank  ever  to  dwell 
within  the  walls  of  Kome.  Let  me  rather  hope  that  when 
this  war  is  ended,  Portia  may  exchange  Kome  for  Palmyra, 
and  that  here,  upon  this  fair  and  neutral  ground,  the  Pisos 
may  once  more  dwell  beneath  the  same  roof. " 

"  May  it  be  so, "  said  Gracchus ;  "  and  let  not  the  heats 
of  political  opposition  change  the  kindly  current  of  your 


LOVE,  AND  A  CAPTIVE  FREED.         259 

blood,  or  inflame  it.  You,  Lucius  Piso,  are  to  remember 
the  provocations  of  Calpurnius,  and  are  to  feel  that  there 
was  a  nobleness  in  that  sensibility  to  a  declension  into  Per 
sian  effeminacy  that,  to  say  the  least,  reflects  quite  as  much 
honour  upon  the  name  of  Piso,  and  even  Eoman,  as  any 
loyalty  to  an  emperor  like  Gallienus,  or  that  senate  filled 
with  his  creatures.  And  you,  Calpurnius  Piso,  are  to  allow 
for  that  instinctive  veneration  for  everything  Koman  which 
grows  up  with  the  Roman,  and,  even  in  spite  of  his  better 
reason,  ripens  into  a  bigotry  that  deserves  the  name  of  a 
crime  rather  than  a  virtue ;  and  are  to  consider  that  while 
in  you  the  growth  of  this  false  sentiment  has  been  checked 
by  causes,  in  respect  to  which  you  were  the  sport  of  fortune, 
so  in  Lucius  it  has  been  quickened  by  other  causes  over 
which  he  also  was  powerless.  But  to  utter  my  belief, 
Lucius,  I  think,  is  now  more  than  half  Palmyrene,  and  I 
trust  yet,  if  committed,  as  he  has  been,  to  the  further  tui 
tion  of  our  patriot  Fausta,  will  be  not  only  in  part,  but 
altogether  of  our  side.  " 

"  In  the  mean  time,  let  us  rejoice,  *  said  Fausta,  "  that 
the  noble  Calpurnius  joins  our  cause.  If  we  may  judge  by 
the  eye,  the  soft  life  of  a  Persian  satrap  has  not  quite 
exhausted  the  native  Eoman  vigour. " 

"  I  have  never  intermitted, "  replied  Calpurnius,  "  mar 
tial  exercises.  Especially  have  I  studied  the  whole  art  of 
horsemanship,  so  far  as  the  chase  and  military  discipline 
can  teach  it.  It  is  in  her  cavalry,  as  I  learn,  that  Zenobia 
places  her  strength.  I  shall  there,  I  trust,  do  her  good 
service. " 

"  In  the  morning, "  said  Fausta,  "  it  shall  be  my  office  to 
bring  you  before  our  queen.  " 

"  And  now,  Fausta, "  said  Gracchus,  "  bring  your  harp, 
and  let  music  perfect  the  harmony  which  reason  and  philos 
ophy  have  already  so  well  begun, —  music,  which,  for  its 
power  over  our  souls,  may  rather  be  held  an  influence  of  the 
gods,  a  divine  breathing,  than  anything  of  mortal  birth.  " 

"  I  fear,"  said  Fausta,  as  she  touched  the  instrument, — 
the  Greek,  and  not  the  Jewish  harp,  —  "I  shall  still  further 


260  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

task  your  philosophy ;  for  I  can  sing  nothing  else  than  the 
war-song  which  is  already  heard  all  through  the  streets  of 
Palmyra,  and  whose  author,  it  is  said,  is  no  less  than  our 
chief  spirit,  Longinus.  Lucius,  you  must  close  your  ears.  " 

"  Never  while  your  voice  sounds,  though  bloody  treason 
were  the  only  burden.  " 

"  You  are  a  gentle  Eoman.  " 

Then,  after  a  brief  but  fiery  prelude,  which  of  itself, 
struck  by  her  fingers,  was  enough  to  send  life  into  stones, 
she  broke  forth  into  a  strain,  abrupt  and  impassioned,  of 
wild  Pindaric  energy,  that  seemed  the  very  war-cry  of  a 
people  striking  and  dying  for  liberty.  Her  voice,  inspired 
by  a  soul  too  large  for  mortal  form,  rang  like  a  trumpet 
through  the  apartment,  and  seemed  to  startle  the  gods 
themselves  at  their  feast.  As  the  hymn  moved  on  to  its 
perfect  close,  and  the  voice  of  Fausta  swelled  with  the 
waxing  theme,  Calpurnius  seemed  like  one  entranced, — 
unconsciously  he  had  left  his  seat,  and  there,  in  the  midst 
of  the  room,  stood  before  the  divine  girl,  converted  to  a 
statue.  As  she  ceased,  the  eyes  of  Calpurnius  fell  quickly 
upon  me  with  an  expression  which  I  instantly  interpreted, 
and  should  have  instantly  returned,  but  that  we  were  all 
alike  aroused  out  of  ourselves  by  the  loud  shouts  of  a  mul 
titude  without  the  palace,  who  apparently  had  been  drawn 
together  by  the  far-reaching  tones  of  Fausta 's  voice,  and 
who,  as  soon  as  the  last  strings  of  the  harp  were  touched, 
testified  their  delight  by  reiterated  and  enthusiastic  cries. 

"  When  Zabdas  and  Zenobia  fail, "  said  Calpurnius,  "  you, 
daughter  of  Gracchus,  may  lead  the  armies  of  your  country 
by  your  harp  and  voice ;  they  would  inspire  not  less  than 
the  fame  of  Caesar  or  Aurelian.  " 

"  But  be  it  known  to  you,  Piso, "  said  Gracchus,  "  that 
this  slight  girl  can  wield  a  lance  or  a  sword,  while,  centaur- 
like,  she  grows  to  the  animal  she  rides,  as  well  as  sweep 
these  idle  strings. " 

"  I  will  learn  of  her  in  either  art,  *  replied  my  brother. 
*  As  I  acknowledge  no  instinct  which  is  to  bind  me  to  an 
unjust  parent,  but  will  give  honour  only  where  there  is 


I 

LOVE,  AND  A   CAPTIVE  FREED.  261 

virtue,  so  on  the  field  of  war  I  will  enlist  under  any  leader 
in  whom  I  behold  the  genius  of  a  warrior,  be  that  leader 
man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl.  " 

"  I  shall  be  satisfied, "  said  Fausta,  "  to  become  your 
teacher  in  music, —  that  is,  if  you  can  learn  through  the 
force  of  example  alone.  Take  now  another  lesson.  Zenobia 
shall  teach  you  the  art  of  war. " 

With  these  words  she  again  passed  her  fingers  over  her 
harp,  and  after  strains  of  melting  sweetness,  prolonged  till 
our  souls  were  wholly  subdued  to  the  sway  of  the  gentler 
emotions,  she  sang  in  words  of  Sappho  the  praise  of  love 
and  peace,  twin-sisters.  And  then,  as  we  urged  or  named 
to  her  Greek  or  Eoman  airs  which  we  wished  to  hear,  did 
she  sing  and  play  till  every  sense  was  satisfied  and  filled. 

It  needs  not  so  much  sagacity  as  I  possess  to  perceive  the 
effect  upon  my  brother  of  the  beauty  and  powers  of  Fausta. 
He  speaks  with  difficulty  when  he  addresses  her,  and  while 
arguing  or  conversing  with  me  or  Gracchus,  his  eye  seeks 
her  countenance,  and  then  falls  as  it  encounters  hers,  as  if 
he  had  committed  some  crime.  Fausta,  I  am  sure,  is  not 
insensible  to  the  many  rare  and  striking  qualities  of  Cal- 
purnius.  But  her  affections  can  be  given  only  where  there 
is  a  soul  of  very  uncommon  elevation.  Whether  Calpur- 
nius  is  throughout  that  which  he  seems  to  be,  and  whether 
he  is  worthy  the  love  of  a  being  like  Fausta,  I  know  not 
yet,  though  I  am  strong  in  faith  that  it  is  so.  In  the  mean 
time  a  mutual  affection  is  springing  up  and  growing  upon 
the  thin  soil  of  the  fancy,  and  may  reach  a  quick  and  rank 
luxuriance  before  it  shall  be  discovered  that  there  is  noth 
ing  more  substantial  beneath.  But  why  indulge  a  single 
doubt?  Only,  I  suppose,  because  I  would  rather  Eome 
should  fall  than  that  any  harm  come  to  the  heart  of  Fausta. 

It  was  a  little  after  the  noon  of  this  day  that  the  ambassa 
dors,  Petronius  and  Varro,  passed  from  out  the  gates  of 
Palmyra,  bearing  with  them  a  virtual  declaration  of  war. 

The  greatest  excitement  prevails.  The  streets  are  already 
filled  with  sights  and  sounds  admonitory  of  the  scenes  which 
are  soon  to  be  disclosed.  There  is  the  utmost  enthusiasm 


262  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMY3A. 

in  every  quarter,  and  upon  every  face  you  behold  the  confi 
dence  and  pride  of  those  who,  accustomed  to  conquest,  are 
about  to  extend  their  dominion  over  new  territories,  and  to 
whom  war  is  a  game  of  pleasure  rather  than  a  dark  hazard 
that  may  end  in  utter  desolation  and  ruin.  Intrenched 
within  these  massy  walls,  the  people  of  this  gay  capital 
cannot  realize  war.  Its  sounds  are  afar  off — it  has  ever 
been  so  —  beyond  the  wide  sweep  of  the  deserts  —  and  will 
be  so  —  so  they  judge  now,  and  they  are  scarcely  turned  for 
a  moment,  or  by  the  least  remove,  from  their  accustomed 
cares  or  pleasures. 


THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  263 


LETTEK  XIL 

THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR.  —  FAUSTA  ARMED.  —  ZENOBIA  AT  THB 
HEAD  OF  HER  TROOPS.  —  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  ARMY. — 
A  CHILD'S  PHILOSOPHY. 

I  LAMENT  to  hear  of  the  disturbance  among  your  slaves, 
and  of  the  severity  with  which  you  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  proceed  against  them.  You  will  bear  me  wit 
ness  that  I  have  often  warned  you  that  the  cruelty  with 
which  Tiro  exercised  his  authority  would  lead  to  difficulties, 
if  not  to  violence  and  murder.  I  am  not  surprised  to  learn 
his  fate.  I  am  indeed  very  free  to  say  that  I  rejoice  at  it. 
I  rejoice  not  that  you  are  troubled  in  your  affairs,  but  that 
such  an  inhuman  overseer  as  Tiro,  a  man  wholly  unworthy 
the  kindness  and  indulgence  with  which  you  have  treated 
him,  should  at  length  be  overtaken  by  a  just  retribution. 
That  the  poison  took  effect  upon  his  wife  and  children  I 
sincerely  regret,  and  wish  that  some  other  mode  of  destruc 
tion  had  been  chosen,  and  whose  effects  could  have  been 
safely  directed  and  limited,  for  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
least  ill-will  existed  toward  Claudia  and  her  little  ones. 
But  rest  satisfied,  I  beseech  you,  with  the  punishments 
already  inflicted.  Enough  has  been  scourged,  put  to  the 
torture,  and  crucified.  Let  the  rest  escape.  Eemember 
your  disposition  —  now  indulgent,  now  tyrannical  —  and 
lay  a  restraint  upon  your  passions,  if  you  would  save  your 
self  from  lasting  regrets.  It  is  some  proof  that  you  are 
looking  to  yourself  more  than  formerly,  that  so  many  have 
been  imprisoned  to  wait  a  further  deliberation,  and  that 
you  are  willing  first  to  ask  my  opinion.  Be  assured  that 
further  crucifixions  would  serve  only  to  exasperate  those 


264  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN   OF  PALMYRA. 

who  survive,  and  totally  alienate  them  from  you,  so  that 
your  own  life,  instead  of  being  the  more  safe,  would  be 
much  less  so.  They  will  be  driven  to  despair,  and  say  that 
they  may  as  well  terminate  their  wretched  lives  in  one  way 
as  another,  and  so  end  all  at  once  by  an  assault  upon  your 
self  and  Lucilia,  which,  while  it  destroyed  you,  and  so 
glutted  their  revenge,  could  do  no  more  than  destroy  them, 

—  a  fate  which  they  dread  now,  but  which  at  all  times, 
owing  to  their  miseries,   they   dread   much  less   than   we 
suppose,  and  so  are  more  willing  than  we  imagine  to  take 
the  lives  of  their  masters  or  governors,  not  caring  for  death 
themselves.     A  well-timed  lenity  would  now  be  an  act  of 
policy  as  well  as  of  virtue.     Those  whom  you  have  reprieved, 
being  pardoned,  will  be  bound  to  you  by  a  sort  of  gratitude, 

—  those  of  them,  at  least,  who  put  a  value  upon  their  lives ; 
and  now  that  Tiro  is  fairly  out  of  the  way,  and  his  scourg- 
ings  at  an  end,  they  will  all  value  their  lives  at  a  higher 
rate  than  before. 

But  let  me  especially  intercede  for  Laco  and  Cselia,  with 
their  children.  It  was  they  who,  when  I  have  been  at  your 
farm,  have  chiefly  attended  upon  me ;  they  have  done  me 
many  acts  of  kindness  beyond  the  mere  duties  of  their  office, 
and  have  ever  manifested  dispositions  so  gentle,  and  so  much 
above  their  condition,  that  I  feel  sure  they  cannot  be  guilty 
of  taking  any  part  in  the  crime.  They  have  been  always 
too  happy  to  put  their  all  at  risk  by  such  an  attempt.  Be 
assured  they  are  innocent ;  and  they  are  too  good  to  be  sac 
rificed  merely  for  the  effect.  There  are  others  —  wretches 
in  all  respects  —  who  will  serve  for  this,  —  if  enough  have 
not  already  suffered. 

When  will  sentiments  of  justice  assert  their  supremacy 
in  the  human  mind  ?  When  will  our  laws  and  institutions 
recognize  the  rights  inherent  in  every  man,  as  man,  and 
compel  their  observance?  When  I  reflect  that  I  myself 
possess,  upon  one  only  of  my  estates,  five  hundred  slaves, 
over  whom  I  wield  despotic  power,  and  that  each  one'  of 
these  differs  not  from  myself,  except  in  the  position  into 
which  fortune  and  our  laws  have  cast  him,  I  look  with 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  265 

» 

a  sort  of  horror  upon  myself,  the  laws,  and  my  country 
which  enacts  and  maintains  them.  But  if  we  cannot  at 
once  new-model  our  institutions  and  laws,  we  can  do  some 
thing.  By  a  strict  justice,  and  by  merciful  treatment,  we 
can  mitigate  the  evils  of  their  lot  who  are  within  our  own 
power.  We  can  exercise  the  authority  and  temper  of 
fathers,  and  lay  aside,  in  a  greater  degree  than  we  do,  the 
air  and  manner  of  tyrant.  When  upon  the  fields  of  every 
farm,  as  I  ride  through  our  interior,  I  hear  the  lash  of  the 
task -master  and  behold  the  cross  rearing  aloft  its  victim,  to 
poison  the  air  with  foetid  exhalations,  and  strike  terror  into 
all  who  toil  within  their  reach,  I  hate  my  country  and  my 
nature,  and  long  for  some  power  to  reveal  itself  —  I  care 
not  of  what  kind  nor  in  what  quarter  —  capable  to  reform 
a  state  of  society,  rotten  as  this  is,  to  its  very  heart. 

You,  yourself,  advocate  as  you  are  for  the  existing  order 
of  things,  would  be  agitated  alternately  by  horror  and  com 
passion,  were  I  to  relate  to  you  the  scenes  described  to  me 
by  Milo,  as  having  a  thousand  times  been  witnessed  by  him 
when  in  the  service  of  Gallienus.  To  torture  and  destroy 
his  slaves,  by  the  most  ingenious  devices  of  cruelty,  was 
his  daily  pastime.  They  were  purchased  for  this  very  end. 
When  I  see  you  again,  I  will  give  to  you  instances  with 
which  I  could  not  soil  these  pages.  Antiochus,  were  he  in 
Rome,  would  be  a  monster  of  the  same  stamp.  But  all  this 
is,  as  I  have  often  mentioned,  a  necessary  accompaniment 
of  such  power  as  the  laws  confer  upon  the  owner. 

And  now  that  war  has  actually  broken  out  between  Pal 
myra  and  Eome,  you  will  wish  to  know  wh^t  part  I  intend 
to  take.  Your  letters  imply  that  in  such  an  event  you 
would  expect  my  immediate  return.  But  this  pleasure 
must,  for  the  present  at  least,  be  deferred.  I  am  too  deeply 
interested  in  too  many  here,  to  allow  me  to  forsake  them 
in  a  time  of  so  much  anxiety,  and,  as  I  think,  of  peril  too. 
Zenobia's  full  consent  I  have  already  obtained.  Indeed, 
she  is  now  desirous  that  I  should  remain.  The  services 
that  I  have  accidentally  rendered  her  have  increased  the 
regard  with  which  she  treats  me.  I  confess,  too,  that  I 


266  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

am  less  unwilling  to  remain  than  I  was,  out  of  a  rooted 
disapprobation  of  the  violent  course  of  Aurelian.  I  cannot, 
as  Calpurnius  has  done,  renounce  my  country;  but  I  can 
blame  our  emperor.  His  purposes  are  without  a  colour  of 
justice.  Nor  are  they  only  unjust  and  iniquitous,  they 
are  impolitic.  I  can  enter  fully  into  and  defend  the  feel 
ings  and  arguments  of  Palmyra  in  this  direction.  Her 
cause  is  in  the  main  a  just  one.  She  has  done  somewhat, 
indeed,  to  provoke  a  sensitive  and  jealous  mind,  but  noth 
ing  to  warrant  the  step  which  Aurelian  is  taking.  And 
when  I  counsel  peace,  and  by  concessions  too,  I  do  it  not 
because  I  hold  it  right  that  such  concessions  should  be 
made,  but  because  I  deem  it  frantic  on  the  part  of  Zenobia 
to  encounter  the  combined  power  of  Eome,  under  such  a 
soldier  as  Aurelian.  My  sympathies  are  accordingly  en 
listed  in  behalf  of  this  people  as  a  people;  my  heart  is 
closely  bound  to  both  the  house  of  Gracchus  and  of  Zenobia, 
—  and  therefore  I  cannot  leave  them.  I  shall  not  bear  arms 
against  my  country, —  I  think  I  would  sooner  die ;  but  in  any 
case  of  extremity,  I  shall  not  wear  a  sword  in  vain,  if  by 
using  it  I  can  save  the  life  or  honour  of  persons  dear  to  me. 
I  am  firm  in  the  belief  that  no  such  extremity  will  ever 
present  itself;  but  should  it  come,  I  am  ready  for  it.  I 
cannot  but  hope  that  a  battle  —  one  or  more  —  upon  the 
outskirts  of  the  empire,  will  satisfy  the  pride  of  Aurelian, 
and  convince  the  queen,  that  to  contend  for  empire  with 
him,  and  Eome  at  his  back,  is  vain,  and  that  negotiation 
will  therefore  end  what  passion  has  begun.  I  shall  expect 
no  other  issue  than  this.  Then,  having  done  all  here,  I 
shall  return  to  Italy  —  if  the  queen  relents  not  —  to  pass  an 
unhappy  life  upon  the  Tiburtine  Farm. 

Preparations  of  every  kind  for  the  approaching  contest 
are  going  forward  with  activity.  The  camp  of  the  queen 
is  forming  without  the  walls  upon  a  wide  and  beautiful 
plain,  stretching  toward  the  south.  One  army  will  be 
formed  here,  chiefly  consisting  of  cavalry,  in  which  lies  the 
strength  of  the  queen,  and  another  in  the  vicinity  of  An- 
tioch, — where  a  junction  will  be  effected,  and  whence  the 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  267 

whole  will  move  either  toward  the  Bosphorus  or  Egypt, 
according  to  the  route  which,  it  shall  be  learned,  Aurelian 
intends  to  pursue. 

During  the  few  days  that  have  elapsed  since  the  depar 
ture  of  the  ambassadors,  the  stir  and  confusion  incident  to 
such  a  time  have  continually  increased.  In  the  streets  I 
meet  scarce  any  one  who  is  not  engaged  in  some  service 
connected  with  the  army.  Troops  of  soldiers  are  forming, 
exercising  at  their  arms,  and  passing  from  the  city,  as 
they  are  severally  equipped,  to  join  the  camp.  The  shops 
of  the  armourers  resound  with  the  blows  of  an  innumerable 
body  of  artisans,  manufacturing  or  repairing  those  brilliant 
suits  of  steel  for  which  the  cavalry  of  Zenobia  are  distin 
guished.  Immense  repositories  of  all  the  various  weapons 
of  our  modern  warfare,  prepared  by  the  queen  against  sea 
sons  of  emergency,  furnish  forth  arms  of  the  most  perfect 
workmanship  and  metal,  to  all  who  offer  themselves  for  the 
expedition.  Without  the  walls,  in  every  direction,  the  eye  be 
holds  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  different  bodies  of  the  queen's 
forces  as  they  pour  in  from  their  various  encampments  to  one 
central  point.  Trains  of  sumptuary  elephants  and  camels, 
making  a  part  of  every  legion  as  it  comes  up,  and  stretching 
their  long  lines  from  the  verge  of  the  plain  to  the  very 
walls,  contribute  a  fresh  beauty  and  interest  to  the  scene,  j 

Within  the  camp,  whatever  the  tumult  and  confusion 
may  be  without,  everything  is  conducted  with  the  most 
admirable  order,  and  with  the  observance  of  a  discipline  as 
exact,  if  not  as  severe,  as  that  of  Vespasian,  or  Aurelian 
himself.  Here  are  to  be  seen  the  commanders  of  the  chief 
divisions  of  the  army  inspecting  the  arms  and  equipments 
of  each  individual  soldier,  and  not  with  less  diligence  In 
quiring  into  the  mettle  and  points  of  the  horse  he  rides. 
Every  horse  pronounced  in  any  way  defective  is  rejected 
from  the  service,  and  another  procured.  The  queen 's  stable 
has  been  exhausted  in  providing  in  this  manner  substitutes 
for  such  as  have  been  set  aside  as  unworthy. 

Zenobia  herself  is  the  most  active  and  laborious  of  all. 
She  is  in  every  place,  seeing  with  her  own  eyes  that  every 


268  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

arrangement  and  provision  ordered  to  be  made  is  completed, 
and  that  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  All  the  duties  of  a 
general  are  performed  by  her,  with  a  freedom,  a  power,  and 
a  boldness  that  fills  one  with  astonishment  who  is  ac 
quainted  with  those  opposite  qualities  which  render  her, 
as  a  woman,  the  most  loving  and  fascinating  of  her  sex. 
She  is  seen  sometimes  driving  rapidly  through  the  streets 
in  an  open  chariot,  of  the  antique  form;  but  more  fre 
quently  on  horseback,  with  a  small  body  of  attendants, 
who  have  quite  enough  to  do  to  keep  pace  with  her,  so  as 
to  catch  from  her  the  orders  which  she  rapidly  issues,  and 
then  execute  them  in  every  part  of  the  camp  and  city.  She 
inspires  all  who  behold  her  with  her  own  spirit.  In  every 
soldier  and  leader  you  behold  something  of  the  same  alert 
ness  and  impetuosity  of  movement  which  are  so  remarkable 
in  her.  She  is  the  universal  model,  and  the  confidence  in 
the  resources  of  her  genius  is  universal  and  boundless. 
"  Let  our  courage  and  conduct, "  they  say,  "  be  only  in  some 
good  proportion  to  our  queen's,  and  we  may  defy  Eome  and 
the  world. "  As  the  idea  of  nought  but  conquest  ever 
crosses  their  minds,  the  animation  and  even  gaiety  that 
prevail  in  the  camp,  and  throughout  the  ranks,  is  scarcely 
to  be  believed,  as  it  is,  I  doubt  not,  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  war.  Were  she  a  goddess,  and  omnipotent,  the 
trust  in  her  could  not  be  more  unwavering. 

I  have  just  encountered  Calpurnius  returning  from  the 
palace  of  the  queen,  whither  he  has  been  to  offer  his  ser 
vices  during  the  war,  in  any  capacity  in  which  it  might 
please  her  to  employ  him. 

"  What  was  your  reception  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Such  as  Fausta  had  assured  me  of.  She  gives  me  a 
hearty  welcome  to  her  camp,  and  assigns  me  a  legion  of 
horse;  and  in  addition,  one  more  charge,  dearer  and  yet 
more  anxious  a  thousand-fold.  " 

"  May  I  know  it  ?  "  said  I,  but  readily  surmising  the 
nature  of  it. 

"  It  is,"  he  replied,  with  visible  emotion, — "  it  is  Fausta 
herself. " 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  269 

"  It  is  fixed,  then,  that  she  accompanies  the  queen  ?  " 

"  She  entreats,  and  the  queen  consents. " 

"  Would  that  she  could  be  turned  from  this  purpose ;  but 
I  suppose  the  united  power  of  the  East  could  not  do  it.  To 
be  near  Zenobia,  and  if  evil  should  befall  hor  to  share  it  — 
or  to  throw  herself  as  a  shield  between  the  queen  and  death 
—  is  what  she  pants  for  more  than  for  renown,  though  it 
should  be  double  that  of  Semiramis.  " 

"  Lucius,  have  you  urged  every  reason,  and  used  all  the 
power  you  possess  over  her,  to  dissuade  her  ?  " 

"  I  have  done  all  I  have  dared  to  do.  The  decisions  of 
some  minds,  you  know,  with  the  motives  which  sway  them, 
we  too  much  revere  to  oppose  to  them  our  own.  Girl  though 
Fausta  be,  yet  when  I  see,  by  the  lofty  expression  of  her 
countenance,  her  firm  and  steadfast  eye,  that  she  has  taken 
her  part,  I  have  no  assurance  sufficient  to  question  the  rec 
titude  of  her  determination,  or  essay  to  change  it.  I  have 
more  faith  in  her  than  in  myself.  " 

"  Yet  it  must  never  be, "  said  my  brother,  with  earnest 
ness  ;  "  she  could  never  support  the  fatigues  of  such  a 
campaign,  and  it  must  not  be  permitted  that  she  should 
encounter  the  dangers  and  horrors  of  actual  combat.  I 
have  learned  that  at  the  palace,  which,  while  it  has  dis 
missed  the  most  painful  apprehension  of  one  sort,  has  filled 
me  with  others  more  tolerable,  but  yet  intolerable.  How, 
Lucius,  has  it  happened  that  your  heart,  soft  in  most  of  its 
parts,  on  one  side  has  been  adamant  ?  " 

"  The  way  of  the  heart, "  I  said,  "  like  the  way  of  Provi 
dence,  is  mysterious  —  I  know  not.  Perhaps  it  was  that  I 
knew  her  longer  in  Eome  and  more  closely  than  you,  and 
the  sentiment  always  uppermost  toward  her  has  been  that 
of  a  brother's  love.  Hers  toward  me  has  never  been  other 
than  the  free,  unrestrained  affection  of  a  sister.  But  you 
have  not  seen  the  princess  ?  " 

"  I  have  not.  " 

"  That  will  complete  the  explanation.  The  queen  rejects 
me ;  but  I  do  not  despair.  But  to  return  to  Fausta.  As  no 
force  could  withhold  her  from  the  army,  I  thank  the  gods 


270  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

that  in  you  she  will  find  a  companion  and  defender,  and 
that  to  you  the  queen  has  committed  her.  Fail  her  not, 
Calpurnius,  in  the  hour  of  need.  You  do  not  know,  for 
your  eye  has  but  taken  in  her  outward  form,  what  a  jewel, 
richer  than  Eastern  monarch  ever  knew,  is  intrusted  to  your 
care.  Keep  it  as  you  would  your  own  life  —  nay,  your  life 
will  be  well  given  for  its  safety.  Forgive  me,  if  in  this  I 
seem  to  charge  you  as  an  elder.  Eemember  that  you  I  do 
not  know,  Fausta  I  do.  Of  you  I  scarcely  know  more  than 
that  you  are  a  Piso,  and  that  the  very  soul  of  honour  ought 
to  dwell  within  you.  The  queen's  ready  confidence  in  you 
lays  you  under  obligations,  heavy  as  injunctions  from  the 
gods,  to  fidelity.  If,  as  you  journey  on  toward  Antioch, 
the  opportunities  of  the  way  throw  you  together,  and  your 
heart  is  won  by  your  nearer  knowledge  of  her  sweet  quali 
ties  as  well  as  great  ones,  as  your  eye  has  already  been,  ask 
not,  seek  not  for  hers,  but  after  a  close  questioning  of 
yourself  whether  you  are  worthy  of  her.  Of  your  life,  and 
the  true  lineaments  of  your  soul,  you  know  everything; 
she  knows  nothing ;  but  she  is  more  free  and  unsuspicious 
than  a  child,  and,  without  looking  further  than  the  show 
and  colour  of  honesty  and  truth,  will  surrender  up  her  heart 
where  her  fancy  leads,  trusting  to  find  according  to  her  faith, 
and  to  receive  all  that  she  gives.  Brother  though  you  be, 
I  here  invoke  the  curses  of  the  gods  upon  your  head,  if  the 
faintest  purpose  of  dishonest  or  deceptive  dealing  have  place 
within  you. " 

"  Your  words,"  said  Calpurnius,  in  reply, —  a  wholesome 
and  natural  expression  of  indignation  spreading  over  his 
countenance,  which  inspired  more  confidence  than  anything 
he  could  say, — "  Your  words,  Lucius,  are  earnest  and  some 
thing  sharp.  But  I  bear  them  without  complaint,  for  the 
sake  of  the  cause  in  which  you  have  used  them.  I  blame 
you  not.  It  is  true  I  am  a  stranger  both  to  yourself  and 
Fausta,  and  it  were  monstrous  to  ask  confidence  before  time 
has  proved  me.  Leave  it  all  to  time.  My  conduct  under 
this  trust  shall  be  my  trial.  Not  till  our  return  from  An 
tioch  will  I  aim  at  more  than  the  happiness  to  be  her  com- 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  271 

panion  and  guard.  The  noble  Otho  will  be  near  to  us,  to 
whom  you  may  commit  us  both. " 

*  Brother,"  I  rejoined,  "  I  doubt  you  not;  but  where  our 
treasure  is  great,  we  are  tortured  by  imaginary  fears,  and 
we  guard  it  by  a  thousand  superfluous  cares.  What  I  have 
said  has  implied  the  existence  of  doubts  and  apprehensions. 
But  in  sober  truth  they  were  forced  into  existence.  My 
nature  from  the  first  has  been  full  of  trust  in  you ;  but  this 
very  promptness  to  confide,  my  anxious  fears  converted  to 
a  fault,  and  urged  suspicion  as  a  duty.  Your  countenance 
and  your  words  have  now  inspired  me  with  an  assurance 
not,  I  am  certain,  to  be  ever  shaken,  in  your  virtues.  It 
shall  be  my  joy  to  impart  the  same  to  Gracchus.  Fausta 
shall  be  left  free  to  the  workings  of  her  own  mind  and 
heart. " 

I  should  not  have  been  justified,  it  seems  to  me,  in  say 
ing  less  than  this,  though  I  said  it  with  apprehensions, 
many  and  grave,  of  a  breach  between  us  which  perhaps 
time  might  never  heal.  It  has  ended  in  a  deep  and  settled 
conviction  that  the  character  of  Calpurnius  is  what  it  at  first 
appears  to  be.  Persian  duplicity  has  made  no  lodgment 
within  him,  of  that  I  am  sure ;  and  where  you  feel  sure  of 
sincerity,  almost  any  other  fault  may  be  borne. 

The  army  has  taken  up  its  march,  and  the  city  is  de 
prived  of  its  best  and  bravest  spirits ;  Zenobia  and  Fausta, 
those  kindred  souls,  are  gone.  How  desolate  is  this  vast 
palace !  The  loss  of  Gracchus  and  Fausta  seem  the  loss  of 
all !  A  hundred  attendant  slaves  leave  it  still  empty. 

A  period  of  the  most  active  preparation  has  been  closed 
to-day,  by  the  departure  of  as  well-appointed  an  army  as 
ever  issued  from  the  Praetorian  camps.  It  was  a  spectacle 
as  beautiful  as  my  eyes  ever  beheld,  —  and  as  sad.  Let  me 
set  before  you  the  events  of  the  day.  As  I  descended  to  the 
apartment  where  we  take  together  our  morning  meal,  and 
which  we  were  now  for  the  last  time  to  partake  in  each 
other's  company,  I  found  Fausta  already  there,  and  sur 
veying,  with  sparkling  eyes  and  a  flushed  cheek,  a  suit  of 
the  most  brilliant  armour,  which  having  been  made  by 


272  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN   OF   PALMYRA. 

the  queen's   workmen,   and  by  her   order,   had   just  now 
been  brought  and  delivered  to  her. 

"  I  asked  the  honour, "  said  the  person  with  whom  she 
was  conversing,  "  to  bring  it  myself,  who  have  made  it  with 
the  same  care  as  the  queen's,  of  the  same  materials,  and 
after  the  same  fashion.  So  it  was  her  order  to  do.  It  will 
set,  lady,  believe  me,  as  easy  as  a  riding-dress,  though  it  be 
all  of  the  most  impenetrable  steel.  The  polish,  too,  is  such 
that  neither  arrow  nor  javelin  need  be  feared ;  they  can  but 
touch  and  glance.  Hercules  could  not  indent  this  surface. 
Let  me  reveal  to  you  divers  secret  and  perfect  springs  and 
clasps,  the  use  of  which  you  should  be  well  acquainted 
with.  Yet  it  differs  not  so  much  from  that  in  which  you 
have  performed  your  exercises,  but  that  you  will  readily 
comprehend  the  manner  of  its  adjustment. " 

He  then  went  through  with  his  demonstrations,  and 
departed. 

"  This  is  beautiful  indeed, "  I  said,  as  I  surveyed  and 
handled  parts  of  the  armour ;  "  the  eye  can  hardly  bear  it 
when  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  upon  it.  But  I  wish  it  was 
fairly  back  again  in  the  shop  of  the  armourer. " 

"  That  would  be, "  said  Fausta,  "  only  to  condemn  me  to 
an  older  and  a  worse  one,  and  if  you  should  wish  that  away 
too,  it  would  be  only  to  send  me  into  the  ranks  defenceless. 
Surely  that  you  would  not  do  ?  " 

"  The  gods  forbid.  I  only  mean  that  I  would  rather  these 
walls,  Fausta,  should  be  your  defence.  You  were  not  made, 
whatever  you  may  think,  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  desert, 
and  the  horrors  of  a  war.  Do  you  remember  at  the  amphi 
theatre  you  hid  your  eyes  from  the  cruel  sights  of  the  arena  ? 
I  doubt  not  your  courage ;  but  it  is  not  after  your  heart.  " 

"  From  the  useless  barbarities  of  the  circus  I  might  in 
deed  turn  away  my  eyes,  and  yet,  I  think,  with  perfect 
consistency  strike  my  lance  into  the  heart  of  a  man  who 
came  against  my  country  or  my  queen,  nor  even  blench. 
But  do  not  suppose  that  it  is  with  any  light  or  childish  joy 
that  I  resolve  to  follow  in  the  steps  of  Zenobia,  even  to  the 
field  of  slaughter.  I  would  far  rather  sit  here  in  the  midst 


THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  273 

of  security  and  peace,  making  mimic  war  upon  my  em 
broidery,  or  tuning  my  voice  and  harp  with  Gracchus  and 
you  to  listen  and  applaud.  But  there  is  that  within  me 
that  forbids  my  stay.  I  am  urged  from  within  by  a  voice 
which  seems  as  the  voice  of  a  god,  to  do,  according  to  my 
strength,  for  what  may  be  the  last  struggle  of  our  country 
against  the  encroachments  and  ambition  of  Kome.  You 
may  deem  it  little  that  a  woman  can  do  ?  " 

"  I  confess  I  am  of  opinion  that  many  a  substitute  could 
do  Palmyra  a  better  service  than  the  arm  of  Fausta.  A 
woman  may  do  much  and  bravely,  but  a  man  may  do 
more. " 

"  Therein,  Lucius,  am  I  persuaded  you  err.  If  it  were 
only  that,  in  the  language  of  Zabdas,  I  added  so  many 
pounds  weight  of  bone  and  flesh  by  adding  myself  to  the 
queen's  troops,  I  would  stay  at  home.  There  are  heavier 
arms  than  mine  —  for  mine  are  slight  —  and  sturdier  limbs, 
—  for  mine,  in  spite  of  the  sports  of  the  field,  are  still  a 
woman's.  But  you  know  nothing  of  Palmyra,  if  you  know 
not  this,  that  her  victories  have  been  won,  not  by  the  arm, 
but  by  the  presence  of  Zenobia ;  to  be  led  to  the  onset  by  a 
woman,  and  that  woman  Zenobia, —  it  is  this  that  has  in 
fused  a  spirit  and  an  enthusiasm  into  our  soldiery  that  has 
rendered  them  irresistible.  Were  it  a  thousand  against  ten 
thousand,  not  a  native  Palmyrene  would  shrink  from  the 
trial,  with  Zenobia  at  their  head.  I  am  not  Zenobia,  Lu 
cius;  but  what  she  can  do  for  an  army,  I  can  do  for  a 
legion.  Mark  the  sensation,  when  this  morning  Zenobia 
presents  herself  to  the  army,  and  even  when  Fausta  wheels 
into  the  ranks,  and  acknowledge  that  I  have  uttered  a 
truth. " 

"  There  must  be  truth  in  what  you  say,  for  were  I  in  your 
train,  I  can  feel  how  far  I  should  follow  you,  and  when  for 
sake  you.  But  what  you  say  only  fills  me  with  new  ap 
prehensions,  and  renders  me  the  more  anxious  to  detain 
you.  What  but  certain  death  awaits  you,  if  you  are  to  lead 
the  way. " 

"  And  why  should  I  not  die,  as  well  as  another  ?  And  is 

18 


274  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

it  of  more  consequence  that  Fausta,  the  daughter  of  Grac 
chus,  should  die  upon  a  bed  of  down,  and  beneath  silken 
canopies,  than  that  the  common  soldier  should,  who  falls 
at  her  side?  How  could  I  die  better  than  at  the  head 
of  a  legion,  which  as  I  fell,  I  saw  sweeping  on  like  a  tem 
pest  to  emulate  and  revenge  my  death  ?  " 

"  But  Gracchus  —  has  he  another  Fausta,  or  another 
child  ? " 

Her  eyes  were  bent  to  the  ground,  and  for  a  few  mo 
ments  she  was  buried  in  thought.  They  were  filled  with 
tears  as  she  raised  them  and  said,  "  You  may  well  suppose, 
Lucius,  having  witnessed,  as  you  have,  what  the  love  is 
which  I  bear  Gracchus,  and  how  his  life  is  bound  up  in 
mine,  that  this  has  been  my  heaviest  thought.  But  it  has 
not  prevailed  with  me  to  change  my  purpose,  and  ought  not 
to  do  so.  Could  I  look  into  futurity,  and  know  that  while 
I  fell  upon  the  plains  of  Antioch,  or  on  the  sands  of  the 
desert,  he  returned  to  these  walls  to  wear  out,  childless  and 
in  solitude,  the  remnant  of  his  days,  my  weakness,  I  be 
lieve,  would  yield,  and  I  should  prefer  my  parent  to  my 
country.  But  the  future  is  all  dark.  And  it  may  as  well 
be,  that  either  we  shall  both  fall,  or  both  return ;  or  that 
he  may  fall,  and  I  survive.  It  is  unworthy  of  me,  is  it  not, 
then,  to  consider  so  anxiously  such  chances  ?  The  only 
thing  certain,  and  of  certain  advantage,  is  this,  I  can  do 
my  country,  as  I  deem  it,  a  signal  service  by  joining  her 
forces  in  this  hour  of  peril.  To  this  I  cleave,  and  leave  the 
rest  to  the  disposal  of  the  gods.  But  come,  urge  me  no 
more,  Lucius  ;  my  mind  is  finally  resolved,  and  it  but  serves 
to  darken  the  remaining  hours.  See,  Gracchus  and  Cal- 
purnius  are  come  —  let  us  to  the  tables." 

This  last  meal  was  eaten  in  silence,  save  the  few  required 
words  of  courtesy. 

Soon  as  it  was  over,  Fausta,  springing  from  her  seat, 
disappeared,  hastening  to  her  apartments.  She  returned 
in  a  few  moments,  her  dress  changed,  and  prepared  for  her 
armour. 

"  Now,  Lucius, "  she  exclaimed,  "  your  hour  of  duty  has 


THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  275 

come,  which  is  to  fit  upon  me  this  queenly  apparel.  Show 
your  dexterity,  and  prove  that  you,  too,  have  seen  the  wars, 
by  the  grace  with  which  you  shall  do  your  service. " 

"  These  pieces  differ  not  greatly, "  I  said,  "  from  those 
which  I  have  worn  in  Gaul  and  Germany,  and  were  they  to 
be  fastened  upon  my  own  limbs,  or  a  comrade's,  the  task 
were  an  easy  one.  I  fear  lest  I  may  use  too  rough  a  hand 
in  binding  on  this  heavy  iron.  " 

"Oh,  never  fear;  there  —  that  is  well.  The  queen's 
armourer  has  said  truly;  this  is  easy  as  a  robe  of  silk. 
Now  these  clasps  —  are  they  not  well  made?  Will  they 
not  catch  ? " 

"  The  clasps  are  perfect,  Fausta,  but  my  eye  is  dim. 
Here  —  clasp  them  yourself, "  and  I  turned  away. 

"  Lucius,  Lucius,  are  you  a  Koman,  with  eyes  so  melting  ? 
Julia  were  a  better  hand-maid.  But  one  thing  remains, 
and  that  must  be  done  by  no  other  hand  than  yours, — 
crown  me  now  with  this  helmet. " 

I  took  it  from  her  and  placed  it  upon  her  head,  say 
ing,  as  I  did  it,  "  The  gods  shield  you  from  danger,  dear 
Fausta,  and  when  you  have  either  triumphed  or  suffered 
defeat,  return  you  again  to  this  happy  roof.  Now  for  my 
services,  allow  me  this  reward"  —  and  for  the  first  time 
since  she  was  a  girl,  I  kissed  her  forehead. 

She  was  now  a  beautiful  vision  to  behold  as  ever  lighted 
upon  the  earth.  Her  armour  revealed  with  exactness  the 
perfection  of  her  form,  and  to  her  uncommon  beauty  added 
its  own,  being  of  the  most  brilliant  steel,  and  frequently 
studded  with  jewels  of  dazzling  lustre.  Her  sex  was  re 
vealed  only  by  her  hair,  which,  parting  over  her  forehead, 
fell  toward  either  eye,  and  then  was  drawn  up  and  buried 
in  her  helmet.  The  ease  with  which  she  moved  showed 
how  well  she  had  accustomed  herself,  by  frequent  exercises, 
to  the  cumbrous  load  she  bore.  I  could  hardly  believe,  as 
she  paced  the  apartment,  issuing  her  final  orders  to  her 
slaves  and  attendants  who  pressed  around,  that  I  was  look 
ing  upon  a  woman  reared  in  all  the  luxury  of  the  East. 
Much  as  I  had  been  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  Zenobia 


276  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

performing  the  part  of  an  emperor,  I  found  it  difficult  to  per 
suade  myself,  that  when  I  looked  upon  Fausta,  changing  so 
completely  her  sex,  it  was  anything  more  than  an  illusion. 

Gracchus  and  Calpurnius  now  joined  us,  each,  like  Fausta, 
arrayed  in  the  armour  of  the  queen's  cavalry. 

"  Fausta, "  said  Gracchus,  hastily,  "  the  hour  is  come  that 
we  were  at  the  camp ;  our  horses  wait  us  in  the  court-yard  — 
let  us  mount.  Farewell,  Lucius  Piso, "  continued  he,  as  we 
moved  toward  the  rear  of  the  palace,  "  would  you  were  to 
make  one  of  our  company ;  but  as  that  cannot  be,  I  bequeath 
to  you  my  place,  my  honours,  and  my  house.  Be  ready  to 
receive  us  with  large  hospitality  and  a  philosophic  com 
posure,  when  we  return  loaded  with  the  laurels  of  victory 
and  the  spoils  of  your  countrymen.  It  is  fortunate  that  as 
we  lose  you,  we  have  Calpurnius,  who  seems  of  the  true 
warrior  breed.  Never,  Lucius,  has  my  eye  lighted  upon 
a  nobler  pair  than  this.  Observe  them.  The  queen,  care 
ful  of  our  Fausta,  has  given  her  in  special  charge  to  your 
brother.  I  thank  her.  By  this  greater  activity  and  my 
more  prudent  counsel,  I  trust  to  bring  her  again  to  Palmyra 
with  a  fame  not  less  than  Zenobia's. " 

"  I  can  spare  the  fame, "  I  replied,  "  so  I  see  her  once  more 
in  Palmyra,  herself  unharmed,  and  her  country  at  peace.  " 

"  Palmyra  would  no  longer  be  itself  without  her, "  re 
joined  the  fond  father. 

We  were  now  in  the  court-yard,  where  we  found  the 
horses,  fully  caparisoned,  awaiting  their  riders.  Fausta'a 
was  her  favourite  Arab,  of  a  jet-black  colour,  and  of  a  fierce 
and  fiery  temper, —  hardly  to  be  managed  by  the  Saracen 
whose  sole  office  it  was  to  attend  upon  him,  while  in  the 
hands  of  Fausta,  though  still  spirited  almost  to  wildness, 
he  was  yet  docile  and  obedient.  Soon  as  her  feet  were  in 
the  stirrups,  although  before  it  had  been  difficult  to  hold 
him,  he  became  quiet  and  calm. 

"  See  the  power  of  woman, "  said  Gracchus ;  "  were  An- 
tiochus  here,  he  would  look  upon  this  as  but  another  proof 
that  the  gods  are  abandoning  Palmyra  to  the  sway  of 


THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  277 

"  It  is, "  said  Fausta,  "  simply  the  power  of  gentleness. 
My  Saracen  operates  through  fear,  and  I  through  love.  My 
hand,  laid  softly  upon  his  neck,  gains  more  a  thousand-fold 
than  the  lash  laid  hardly  upon  his  back. " 

Mounting  my  horse,  which  Milo  stood  holding  for  me, 
we  then  sallied  out  of  the  court-yard  gate  toward  the  camp. 

The  city  itself  was  all  pouring  forth  upon  the  plains  in 
its  vicinity.  The  crowds  choked  the  streets  as  they  passed 
out,  so  that  our  progress  was  slow.  Arriving  at  length, 
we  turned  toward  the  pavilion  of  the  queen,  pitched  over 
against  the  centre  of  the  army.  There  we  stood,  joined  by 
others,  awaiting  her  arrival, —  for  she  had  not  yet  left  the 
palace.  We  had  not  stood  long,  before  the  braying  of 
trumpets  and  other  warlike  instruments  announced  her  ap 
proach.  We  turned,  and  looking  toward  the  gate  of  the 
city,  through  which  we  had  but  now  passed,  saw  Zenobia, 
having  on  either  side  Longinus  and  Zabdas,  and  preceded 
and  followed  by  a  select  troop  of  horse,  advancing  at  her 
usual  speed  toward  the  pavilion.  She  was  mounted  upon  her 
far-famed  white  Numidian,  for  power  an  elephant,  for  en 
durance  a  dromedary,  for  fleetness  a  very  Nicsean,  and  who 
had  been  her  companion  in  all  the  battles  by  which  she  had 
gained  her  renown  and  her  empire. 

Calpurnius  was  beside  himself.  He  had  not  before  seen 
her  when  assuming  all  her  state.  "  Did  eye  ever  look  upon 
aught  so  like  a  celestial  apparition  ?  It  is  a  descent  from 
other  regions;  I  can  swear  it  is  no  mortal, — still  less  a 
woman.  Fausta,  this  puts  to  shame  your  eulogies,  swollen 
as  I  termed  them.  " 

I  did  not  wonder  at  his  amazement,  for  I  myself  shared 
it,  though  I  had  seen  her  so  often.  The  object  that  ap 
proached  us  truly  seemed  rather  a  moving  blaze  of  light 
than  an  armed  woman,  which  the  eye  and  the  reason  de 
clared  it  to  be,  with  such  gorgeous  magnificence  was  she 
arrayed.  The  whole  art  of  the  armourer  had  been  ex 
hausted  in  her  appointments.  The  caparison  of  her  steed, 
sheathed  with  burnished  gold,  and  thick  studded  with  pre 
cious  stones  of  every  various  hue,  reflected  an  almost  in- 


278  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

tolerable  splendour  as  the  rays  of  a  hot  morning  sun  fell 
upon  it.  She  too  herself,  being  clothed  in  armour  of  pol 
ished  steel,  whose  own  fiery  brightness  was  doubled  by  the 
diamonds, —  that  was  the  only  jewel  she  wore,  —  sown  with 
profusion  all  over  its  more  prominent  parts,  could  be  gazed 
upon  scarcely  with  more  ease  than  the  sun  himself,  whose 
beams  were  given  back  from  it  with  undiminished  glory. 
In  her  right  hand  she  held  the  long  slender  lance  of  the 
cavalry ;  over  her  shoulders  hung  a  quiver  well  loaded  with 
arrows,  while  at  her  side  depended  a  heavy  Damascus  blade. 
Her  head  was  surmounted  by  a  steel  helmet,  which  left 
her  face  wholly  uncovered,  and  showed  her  forehead,  like 
Fausta's,  shaded  by  the  dark  hair,  which,  while  it  was  the 
only  circumstance  that  revealed  the  woman,  added  to  the 
effect  of  a  countenance  unequalled  for  a  marvellous  union 
of  feminine  beauty,  queenly  dignity,  and  masculine  power. 
Sometimes  it  has  been  her  usage,  upon  such  occasions,  to 
appear  with  arms  bare  and  gloved  hands ;  they  were  now 
cased,  like  the  rest  of  the  body,  in  plates  of  steel. 

"  Calpurnius, "  said  Fausta,  "  saw  you  ever  in  Persia  such 
horsemanship  ?  See  now,  as  she  draws  nearer,  with  what 
grace  and  power  she  moves.  Blame  you  the  enthusiasm  of 
this  people  ? " 

"  I  more  than  share  it, "  he  replied ;  "  it  is  reward  enough 
for  my  long  captivity,  at  last  to  follow  such  a  leader. 
Many  a  time,  as  Zenobia  has  in  years  past  visited  my 
dreams,  and  I  almost  fancied  myself  in  her  train,  I  little 
thought  that  the  happiness  I  now  experience  was  to  become 
a  reality.  But  hark !  how  the  shout  of  welcome  goes  up 
from  the  innumerable  host.  " 

No  sooner  was  the  queen  arrived  where  we  stood,  and  the 
whole  extended  lines  became  aware  of  her  presence,  than 
the  air  was  filled  with  the  clang  of  trumpets  and  the  enthu 
siastic  cries  of  the  soldiery,  who  waved  aloft  their  arms  and 
made  a  thousand  expressive  signs  of  most  joyful  greeting. 
When  this  hearty  salutation,  commencing  at  the  centre,  had 
died  away  along  the  wings,  stretching  one  way  to  the  walls 
of  the  city  and  the  other  toward  the  desert,  Zenobia  rode 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  279 

up  nearer  the  lines,  and  being  there  surrounded  by  the 
ranks  which  were  in  front,  and  by  a  crowd  of  the  great 
officers  of  the  army,  spoke  to  them  in  accordance  with  her 
custom.  Stretching  out  her  hand,  as  if  she  would  ask  the 
attention  of  the  multitude,  a  deep  silence  ensued,  and  in 
a  voice  clear  and  strong  she  thus  addressed  them :  — 

"  Men  and  soldiers  of  Palmyra !  Is  this  the  last  time 
that  you  are  to  gather  together  in  this  glittering  array,  and 
go  forth  as  lords  of  the  whole  East  ?  Conquerors  in  so  many 
wars,  are  you  now  about  to  make  an  offering  of  yourselves 
and  your  homes  to  the  emperor  of  Eome  ?  Am  I,  who  have 
twice  led  you  to  the  gates  of  Ctesiphon,  now  to  be  your  leader 
to  the  footstool  of  Aurelian  ?  Are  you  thinking  of  anything 
but  victory  ?  Is  there  one  in  all  these  ranks  who  doubts 
whether  the  same  fate  that  once  befell  Probus  shall  now 
befall  Aurelian  ?  If  there  be,  let  him  stand  forth !  Let 
him  go  and  intrench  himself  within  the  walls  of  Palmyra. 
We  want  him  not.  [The  soldiers  brandished  and  clashed 
their  arms.]  Victory,  soldiers,  belongs  to  those  who  be 
lieve.  Believe  that  you  can  do  so,  and  we  will  return  with 
a  Eoman  army  captive  at  our  chariot-wheels.  Who  should 
put  trust  in  themselves,  if  not  the  men  and  soldiers  of  Pal 
myra  ?  Whose  memory  is  long  enough  to  reach  backward 
to  a  defeat  ?  What  was  the  reign  of  Odenatus  but  an  un 
broken  triumph  ?  Are  you  now,  for  the  first  time,  to  fly  or 
fall  before  an  enemy  ?  And  who  the  enemy  ?  Forget  it  not, 
—  Eome  and  Aurelian !  the  greatest  empire  and  the  great 
est  soldier  of  the  world !  Never  before  was  so  large  a  prize 
within  your  reach.  Never  before  fought  you  on  a  stage  with 
the  whole  world  for  spectators.  Forget  not,  too, —  that  de 
feat  will  be  not  only  defeat,  but  ruin !  The  loss  of  a  battle 
will  be  not  only  so  many  dead  and  wounded,  but  the  loss  of 
empire !  For  Eome  resolves  upon  our  subjugation.  We 
must  conquer,  or  we  must  perish,  and  forever  lose  our 
city,  our  throne,  and  our  name.  Are  you  ready  to  write 
yourselves  subjects  and  slaves  of  Eome, — citizens  of  a  Eo 
man  Province,  —  and  forfeit  the  proud  name  of  Palmyrene? 
[Loud  and  indignant  cries  rose  from  the  surrounding 


280  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

ranks.  ]  If  not,  you  have  only  to  remember  the  plains  of 
Egypt  and  of  Persia,  and  the  spirit  that  burned  within  your 
bosoms  then  will  save  you  now,  and  bring  you  back  to  these 
walls,  your  brows  bound  about  with  the  garlands  of  victory. 
Soldiers,  strike  your  tents !  and  away  to  the  desert !  " 

Shouts  long  and  loud,  mingled  with  the  clash  of  arms, 
followed  these  few  words  of  the  queen.  Her  own  name 
was  heard  above  all.  "  Long  live  the  great  Zenobia !  "  ran 
along  the  ranks  from  the  centre  to  the  extremes,  and  from 
the  extremes  back  again  to  the  centre.  It  seemed  as  if, 
when  her  name  had  once  been  uttered,  they  could  not  cease 
—  through  the  operation  of  some  charm  —  to  repeat  it  again 
and  again,  coupled,  too,  with  a  thousand  phrases  of  loyalty 
and  affection. 

The  queen,  as  she  ended,  turned  toward  the  pavilion, 
where,  dismounting,  she  entered,  and  together  with  her, 
her  counsellors,  the  great  officers  of  the  army  and  empire, 
her  family  and  friends.  Here  was  passed  an  hour  in  the 
interchange  of  the  words  and  signs  of  affection  between 
those  who  were  about  to  depart  upon  this  uncertain  enter 
prise,  and  those  who  were  to  remain.  The  queen  would 
fain  inspire  all  with  her  light,  bold,  and  confident  spirit ; 
but  it  could  not  prevail  to  banish  the  fears  and  sorrows  that 
filled  many  hearts.  Julia's  eyes  never  moved  from  her 
mother's  face,  or  only  to  rest  on  Fausta's,  whose  hand  she 
held  clasped  in  her  own.  Zenobia  often  turned  toward  her 
with  a  look  in  which  the  melting  tenderness  of  the  mother 
contended  but  too  successfully  with  the  calm  dignity  of  the 
queen,  and  bore  testimony  to  the  strong  affection  working 
at  the  heart.  She  would  then,  saying  a  word  or  two,  turn 
away  again,  and  mingle  with  those  who  made  less  demand 
upon  her  sympathies.  Li  via  was  there  too,  and  the  flaxen - 
haired  Faustula,  —  Livia,  gay  even  through  excess  of  life; 
Faustula,  sad  and  almost  terrified  at  the  scene,  and  clinging 
to  Julia  as  to  her  haven  of  safety.  The  Caesars  were  also 
there,  insignificant  as  always, — but  the  youngest,  Vabala- 
thus,  armed  for  the  war ;  the  others  are  not  to  be  drawn 
away  from  the  luxuries  and  pleasures  of  the  city.  Antio- 


THE   WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  281 

chus,  sullen  and  silent,  was  of  the  number  too, —  stalking 
with  folded  arms  apart  from  the  company,  or  else  arm  in 
arm  with  one  of  his  own  colour,  and  seeming  to  be  there 
rather  because  he  feared  to  be  absent,  than  because  he  de 
rived  any  pleasure  from  the  scene.  It  was  with  an  effort, 
and  with  reluctance,  that  he  came  forward  from  his  hiding- 
place,  and  with  supreme  awkwardness,  yet  with  an  air  of 
haughtiness  and  pride,  paid  his  court  to  the  queen.  As  he 
retreated  from  his  audience,  the  queen's  eye  sought  me,  and 
approaching  me  she  said,  "  Piso,  I  am  not  prone  to  suspi 
cion,  and  fear  is  a  stranger  to  my  heart.  But  I  am  told  to 
distrust  Antiochus.  I  have  been  warned  to  observe  him. 
I  cannot  now  do  it ;  for  I  depart,  while  he  remains  in  Pal 
myra.  It  has  been  thrown  out  that  he  has  designs  of  a 
treasonable  nature,  and  that  the  Princess  Julia  is  connected 
with  him.  He  is  an  object  too  contemptible  to  deserve  my 
thought,  and  I  have  not  been  willing  so  much  as  to  name 
the  circumstance  to  any  of  the  council.  He  may  prove  an 
amusing  and  interesting  subject  for  your  contemplation 
while  we  are  gone.  " 

This  was  said  in  a  partly  serious,  partly  trifling  vein.  I 
answered  her,  saying,  "  that  I  could  not  but  fear  lest  there 
might  be  more  foundation  for  the  warnings  that  had  been 
given  her  than  she  was  disposed  to  allow.  He  was  indeed 
insignificant  and  contemptible  in  character,  but  he  was 
malignant  and  restless.  Many  an  insect,  otherwise  every 
way  despicable,  is  yet  armed  with  a  deadly  sting.  A  swarm 
may  conquer  even  the  monarch  of  the  forest.  Antiochus, 
mean  as  he  is,  may  yet  inflict  a  secret  and  fatal  wound ;  and 
he  is  not  alone.  There  are  those  who  affect  him.  I  believe 
you  have  imposed  no  task  which,  as  a  Koman,  I  may  not 
innocently  perform.  Eest  assured  that  if  watchfulness  of 
mine  may  avert  the  shadow  of  an  evil  from  your  head,  it 
shall  not  be  wanting.  I  would  that  you  yourself  could  look 
more  seriously  upon  this  information,  but  I  perceive  you  to 
be  utterly  incredulous. " 

"  It  is  so,  indeed, "  she  replied.  "  It  were  better  for  me, 
perhaps,  were  it  otherwise.  Had  I  heeded  the  rumours 


282  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

which  reached  me  of  the  base  Mseonius,  Odenatus  had  now 
perhaps  been  alive  at  my  side.  But  it  is  against  the  grain 
of  my  nature.  I  can  neither  doubt  nor  fear.  " 

Sounds  from  without  now  indicated  that  the  camp  was 
broken  up,  and  the  army  in  motion.  The  moment  of  sepa 
ration  had  come.  The  queen  hastily  approached  her  daugh 
ters,  and  impressing  a  mother's  kisses  upon  them,  turned 
quickly  away,  and  springing  upon  her  horse,  was  soon  lost 
to  sight  as  she  made  her  way  through  the  ranks,  to  assume 
her  place  at  their  head.  Fausta  lingered  long  in  the  em 
braces  of  Julia,  who,  to  part  with  her,  seemed  as  if  about 
to  lose  as  much  more  as  she  had  just  lost  in  Zenobia. 

"  These  our  friends  being  now  gone,  let  us, "  said  the 
princess,  "  who  remain  together  ascend  the  walls  of  the 
city,  and  from  the  towers  of  the  gate  observe  the  progress 
of  the  army  so  long  as  it  shall  remain  in  sight. " 

Saying  this,  we  returned  to  the  city,  and  from  the  high 
est  part  of  the  walls  watched  the  departing  glories  of  the 
most  magnificent  military  array  I  had  ever  beheld.  It  was 
long  after  noon  before  the  last  of  the  train  of  loaded  ele 
phants  sank  below  the  horizon.  I  have  seen  large  armies 
upon  the  Danube,  and  in  Gaul.  But  never  have  I  seen  one 
that  in  all  its  appointments  presented  so  imposing  a  spec 
tacle.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  greater  proportion  of 
cavalry,  and  to  the  admixture  of  the  long  lines  of  elephants 
with  their  burdens,  their  towers,  and  litters ;  but  more, 
perhaps,  to  the  perfectriess  with  which  each  individual,  be 
he  on  horse  or  foot,  be  he  servant,  slave,  or  master,  is  fur 
nished,  respecting  both  arms,  armour,  and  apparel.  Julia 
beheld  it,  if  with  sorrow,  with  pride  also. 

"  Between  an  army  like  this, "  she  said,  "  so  appointed, 
and  so  led  and  inflamed,  and  another  like  that  of  Eome 
coming  up  under  a  leader  like  Aurelian,  how  sharp  and 
deadly  must  be  the  encounter !  What  a  multitude  of  this 
and  that  living  host,  now  glorious  in  the  blaze  of  arms,  and 
burning  with  desires  of  conquest,  will  fall  and  perish, 
pierced  by  weapons,  or  crushed  by  elephants,  nor  ever  hear 
the  shout  of  victory ;  a  horrid  death  winding  up  a  feverish 


THE  WOMEN  OF  PALMYRA.  283 

dream.  And  of  that  number,  how  likely  to  be  Fausta  and 
Zenobia ! " 

"  Why,  sister, "  said  Faustula,  whom  I  held,  and  in  point 
ing  out  to  whom  the  most  remarkable  objects  of  the  strange 
scene  I  had  been  occupied,  "  why  does  our  mother  love  to  go 
away  and  kill  the  Eomans  ?  I  am  sure  she  would  not  like 
to  kill  you, "  looking  up  in  my  face,  "  and  are  not  you  a 
Eoman  ?  She  will  not  let  me  hurt  even  a  little  fly  or  ant, 
but  tells  me  they  feel  as  much  to  be  killed,  as  if  Sapor 
were  to  put  his  great  foot  on  me,  and  tread  me  into  the 
sand. " 

"  But  the  Komans, "  said  Julia,  "  are  coming  to  take  away 
our  city  from  us,  and  perhaps  do  us  a  great  deal  of  harm, 
and  must  they  not  be  hindered  ?  " 

"  But, "  replied  Faustula,  "  would  they  do  it  if  Zenobia 
asked  them  not  to  do  it  ?  Did  you  ever  know  anybody  who 
could  help  doing  as  she  asked  them?  I  wish  Aurelian 
could  only  have  come  here  and  heard  her  speak,  and  seen 
her  smile,  and  I  know  he  would  not  have  wanted  to  hurt 
her.  If  I  were  queen,  I  would  never  fight.  " 

"  I  do  not  believe  you  would, "  said  I ;  "  you  do  not  seem 
as  if  you  could  hurt  anybody  or  anything.  " 

"  And  now  is  not  Zenobia  better  than  I  ?  I  think  per 
haps  she  is  only  going  to  frighten  the  Komans,  and  then 
coming  home  again. " 

"  Oh,  no ;  do  not  think  so, "  said  Livia ;  "  has  not  Zeno 
bia  fought  a  great  many  battles  before  this  ?  If  she  did  not 
fight  battles,  we  should  have  no  city  to  live  in.  " 

"  If  it  is  so  good  to  fight  battles,  why  does  she  prevent 
me  from  quarrelling,  or  even  speaking  unkindly  ?  I  think 
she  ought  to  teach  me  to  fight.  I  do  not  believe  that  men 
or  women  ought  to  fight  any  more  than  children  ;  and  I  dare 
say  if  they  first  saw  and  talked  with  one  another  before 
they  fought,  as  I  am  told  to  do,  they  never  would  do  it.  I 
find  that  if  I  talk  and  tell  what  I  think,  then  I  do  not 
want  to  quarrel.  See !  is  that  Zenobia  ?  How  bright  she 
shines !  I  wish  she  would  come  back.  " 

"  Wait  a  little  while,  and  she  will  come  again, "  said 


284  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Livia,  "  and  bring  Aurelian  perhaps  with  her.  Should  you 
not  like  to  see  Aurelian  ?  " 

"  No,  I  am  sure  I  should  not.  I  do  not  want  to  see  any 
one  that  does  not  love  Zenobia. " 

So  the  little  child  ran  on,  often  uttering  truths,  too  ob 
viously  truths  for  mankind  to  be  governed  by,  yet  contain 
ing  the  best  philosophy  of  life.  Truth  and  happiness  are 
both  within  easy  reach.  We  miss  them,  in  fact,  because 
they  are  so  near.  We  look  over  them,  and  grasp  at  distant 
and  more  imposing  objects,  wrapped  in  the  false  charms 
which  distance  lends. 

During  the  absence  of  the  queen  and  Fausta,  we  have, 
in  agreement  with  the  promise  we  made,  repeated  our  visit, 
more  than  once,  to  the  retreat  of  the  Christian  hermit; 
from  whom  I  have  drawn  almost  all  that  remains  to  be 
known  concerning  the  truths  of  his  religion.  Both  Julia 
and  Livia  have  been  my  companions.  Of  the  conversations 
at  these  visits  I  shall  hope  at  some  future  time  to  furnish 
you  with  full  accounts. 

In  the  mean  while,  Farewell. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  285 


LETTEE  XIII. 

THE   SHADOW   OF  THE   CLOUD. 

THE  LOST  BATTLE.  —  THE  FEMALE  SLAVE.  —  MISTRUST.  —  A 
SECOND  DEFEAT.  —  LIVIA.  —  THE  RETURN  OF  ZENOBIA.  —  THE 
DEFEATED  SOLDIER.  —  FAUSTA  AND  GRACCHUS  RETURN. 


few  days  having  passed  in  the  manner  I  have 
A  described,  our  impatience  has  been  relieved  by  news 
from  the  West.  We  learn  that  Aurelian,  having  appointed 
Illyricum  as  the  centrical  point  for  assembling  his  forces, 
has,  marching  thence  through  Thrace,  and  giving  battle  on 
the  way  to  the  Goths,  at  length  reached  Byzantium,  whence 
crossing  the  Bosphorus,  it  is  his  purpose  to  subdue  the 
Asiatic  provinces,  and  afterwards  advance  toward  Pal 
myra.  The  army  of  the  queen,  judging  by  the  last  ac 
counts  received  by  her  messengers,  must  now  have  reached 
the  neighbourhood  of  Antioch,  and  there  already  perhaps 
has  encountered  the  forces  of  the  emperor. 

The  citizens  begin  at  length  to  put  on  the  appearance  of 
those  who  feel  that  something  of  value  is  at  stake.  The 
Portico  is  forsaken,  or  frequented  only  by  such  as  hope  to 
hear  news  by  going  there.  The  streets  are  become  silent 
and  solitary.  I  myself  partake  of  the  general  gloom.  I 
am  often  at  the  palace  and  at  the  house  of  Longinus.  The 
dwelling,  or  rather  should  I  not  term  it  the  spacious  palace, 
of  the  minister,  affords  me  delightful  hours  of  relaxation 
and  instruction,  and  I  sit  and  converse  with  its  accom 
plished  lord,  or  wander  among  the  compartments  of  his  vast 
library,  or  feast  the  senses  and  imagination  upon  the  choice 
specimens  of  sculpture  and  painting,  both  ancient  and  mod 
ern,  which  adorn  the  walls,  the  ceilings,  the  stair-ways, 
and,  indeed,  every  part  of  the  extensive  interior.  Here  I 


286  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

succeed  in  forgetting  the  world  and  all  its  useless  troubles, 
and  am  fairly  transported  into  those  regions  of  the  fancy 
where  the  airs  are  always  soft  and  the  skies  serene ;  where 
want  is  unknown,  and  solicitations  to  vice  come  not ;  where 
men  are  just  and  true  and  kind,  and  women  the  goddesses 
we  make  them  in  our  dreams  ;  and  the  whole  of  existence  is  a 
calm  summer's  day,  without  storm  of  the  inward  or  outward 
world.  And  when  upon  these  delicious  moments  the  philoso 
pher  breaks  in,  the  dream  is  not  dissolved,  but  stands  rather 
converted  to  an  absolute  reality,  for  it  then  shines  with  the 
actual  presence  of  a  god.  It  is  with  unwillingness  that  I  ac 
knowledge  my  real  state,  and  consent  to  return  to  this  living 
world  of  anxieties  and  apprehensions  in  which  I  now  dwell. 

I  am  just  returned  from  the  palace  and  the  Princess  Julia. 
While  there,  seated  in  conversation  with  her,  Longinus,  and 
Livia,  a  courier  was  suddenly  announced  from  Zenobia.  He 
entered,  woe  stamped  upon  his  features,  and  delivered  let 
ters  into  the  hands  of  Longinus.  Alas  !  alas  !  for  Palmyra. 
The  intelligence  is  of  disaster  and  defeat.  The  countenance 
of  the  Greek  grew  pale  as  he  read.  He  placed  the  de 
spatches  in  silence  in  the  hands  of  Julia,  having  finished 
them,  and  hastily  withdrew. 

The  sum  of  the  news  is  this.  A  battle  has  been  fought 
before  Antioch,  and  the  forces  of  the  queen  completely 
routed.  It  appears  that  upon  the  approach  of  Aurelian, 
the  several  provinces  of  Asia  Minor,  which  by  negotiation 
and  conquest  had  by  Zenobia  been  connected  with  her 
kingdom,  immediately  returned  to  their  former  allegiance. 
The  cities  opened  their  gates  and  admitted  the  armies  of  the 
conqueror.  Tyana  alone,  of  all  the  queen's  dominions  in 
that  quarter,  opposed  the  progress  of  the  emperor,  and  this 
stronghold  was  soon  by  treachery  delivered  into  his  power. 
Thence  he  pressed  on  without  pause  to  Antioch,  where  he 
found  the  queen  awaiting  him.  A  battle  immediately  en 
sued.  At  first,  the  queen's  forces  obtained  decided  advan 
tages,  and  victory  seemed  ready  to  declare  for  her  as  always 
before,  when  the  gods  decreed  otherwise,  and  the  day  was 
lost, — but  lost,  in  the  indignant  words  of  the  queen,  "  not 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  287 

in  fair  and  honourable  fight,  but  through  the  baseness  of  a 
stratagem  rather  to  have  been  expected  from  a  Cartha 
ginian  than  the  great  Aurelian.  " 

"  Our  troops, "  she  writes,  "  had  driven  the  enemy  from 
his  ground  at  every  point.  Notwithstanding  the  presence 
of  Aurelian,  and  the  prodigies  of  valour  by  which  he  dis 
tinguished  himself  anew,  and  animated  his  soldiers,  our 
cavalry,  led  by  the  incomparable  Zabdas,  bore  him  and  his 
legions  backwards,  till,  apparently  discomfited  by  the  vio 
lence  of  the  onset,  the  Koman  horse  gave  way  and  fled  in 
all  directions.  The  shout  of  victory  arose  from  our  ranks, 
which  now  dissolved,  and  in  the  disorder  of  a  flushed  and 
conquering  army,  scattered  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  flying  foe. 
Now,  when  too  late,  we  saw  the  treachery  of  the  enemy. 
Our  horse  —  heavy  armed,  as  you  know  —  were  led  on  by 
the  retreating  Komans  into  a  broken  and  marshy  ground, 
where  their  movements  were  in  every  way  impeded,  and 
thousands  were  suddenly  fixed  immovable  in  the  deep  mo 
rass.  At  this  moment,  the  enemy,  by  preconcerted  signals, 
with  inconceivable  rapidity  —  being  light-armed  —  formed  ; 
and  returning  upon  our  now  scattered  and  broken  forces, 
made  horrible  slaughter  of  all  who  had  pushed  farthest  from 
the  main  body  of  the  army.  Dismay  seized  our  soldiers ; 
the  panic  spread,  increased  by  the  belief  that  a  fresh  army 
had  come  up  and  was  entering  the  field,  and  our  whole  duty 
centered  upon  forming  and  covering  our  retreat.  This, 
chiefly  through  the  conduct  of  Calpurnius  Piso,  was  safely 
effected ;  the  Eomans  being  kept  at  bay  while  we  drew  to 
gether,  and  then,  under  cover  of  the  approaching  night,  fell 
back  to  a  new  and  strong  position. 

"  I  attempt  not,  Longinus,  to  make  that  better  which  is 
bad.  I  reveal  the  whole  truth,  not  softening  or  withhold 
ing  a  single  feature  of  it,  that  your  mind  may  be  possessed 
of  the  exact  state  of  our  affairs,  and  know  how  to  form  its 
judgments.  Make  that  which  I  write  public,  to  the  extent 
and  in  the  manner  that  shall  seem  best  to  you. 

"  After  mature  deliberation,  we  have  determined  to  re 
treat  further  yet,  and  take  up  our  position  under  the  walls 


288  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

of  Emesa.  Here,  I  trust  in  the  gods,  we  shall  redeem  that 
which  we  have  lost  " 

In  a  letter  to  Julia,  the  queen  says,  "  Fausta  has  escaped 
the  dangers  of  the  battle ;  selfishly,  perhaps,  dividing  her 
from  Piso,  she  has  shared  my  tent  and  my  fortunes,  and 
has  proved  herself  worthy  of  every  confidence  that  has  been 
reposed  in  her.  She  is  my  inseparable  companion  in  the 
tent,  in  the  field,  and  on  the  road,  by  night  and  by  day. 
Give  not  way  to  despondency,  dear  Julia.  Fortune  which 
has  so  long  smiled  upon  me,  is  not  now  about  to  forsake 
me.  There  is  no  day  so  long  and  bright  that  clouds  do 
not  sail  by  and  cast  their  little  shadows ;  but  the  sun  is 
behind  them.  Our  army  is  still  great  and  in  good  heart. 
The  soldiers  receive  me,  whenever  I  appear,  with  their  cus 
tomary  acclamations.  Fausta  shares  this  enthusiasm.  Wait 
without  anxiety  or  fear  for  news  from  Emesa. " 

When  we  had  perused  and  re-perused  the  despatches  of 
the  queen,  and  were  brooding  in  no  little  despondency  over 
their  contents,  Longinus,  re-entering,  said  to  me, — 

a  And  what,  Piso,  may  I  ask,  is  your  judgment  of  the 
course  which  Aurelian  may  now  pursue  ?  I  see  not  that  I 
can  offend  in  asking,  or  you  in  answering.  I  have  hereto 
fore  inclined  to  the  belief  that  Kome,  having  atoned  her 
injured  honour  by  a  battle,  would  then  prefer  to  convert 
Palmyra  into  a  useful  ally,  by  the  proposal  of  terms  which 
she  could  accept, —  terms  which  would  leave  her  an  inde 
pendent  existence  as  formerly, —  in  friendly  alliance  with, 
though  in  no  sense  subject  to,  Rome.  But  neither  preced 
ing  the  battle  at  Antioch,  nor  since,  does  it  appear  that 
terms  have  been  so  much  as  proposed  or  discussed.  I  can 
hardly  believe  that  Aurelian,  even  if  victory  should  con 
tinue  to  sit  upon  his  eagles,  would  desire  to  drive  the  queen 
to  extremities,  and  convert  this  whole  people  into  a  united 
and  infuriated  enemy.  If  he  be  willing  to  do  this,  he  little 
understands  the  best  interests  of  Rome,  and  proves  only 
this,  that  though  he  may  be  a  good  soldier,  he  is  a  bad 
sovereign,  and  really  betrays  his  country  while  achieving 
the  most  brilliant  victories,  " 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  289 

"  I  am  obliged  to  say, "  I  replied,  "  that  I  have  wavered 
in  my  judgment.  Sometimes,  when  I  have  thought  of 
policy,  of  the  past  services  of  Palmyra,  and  of  Persia,  I 
have  deemed  it  hardly  possible  that  Aurelian  should  have 
had  any  other  purpose  in  this  expedition  than  to  negotiate 
with  Zenobia,  under  the  advantages  of  an  army  at  his  back, 
that  at  the  most  and  worst,  a  single  battle  would  suffice, 
and  the  differences  which  exist  be  then  easily  adjusted. 
But,  then,  when  again  I  have  thought  of  the  character  of 
Aurelian,  I  have  doubted  these  conclusions,  and  believed  that 
conquest  alone  will  satisfy  him,  and  that  he  will  never  turn 
back  till  he  can  call  Palmyra  a  Koman  province.  From  what 
has  now  transpired  at  Antioch,  and  especially  from  what 
has  not  transpired,  I  am  strengthened  in  this  last  opinion. 
One  or  the  other  must  fall.  I  believe  it  has  come  to  this. " 

"  One  or  the  other  may  fall  at  Emesa, "  said  Livia,  "  but 
no  power  can  ever  force  the  walls  of  Palmyra.  " 

"  I  am  ready  to  believe  with  you,  princess, "  said  Lon- 
ginus,  "  but  I  trust  never  to  see  a  Eoman  army  before  them. 
Yet  if  your  last  judgment  of  Aurelian  be  the  true  one,  Piso, 
it  may  happen.  We  are  not  a  power  to  pour  forth  the  hordes 
of  Rome  or  Germany.  We  have  valour,  but  not  numbers. " 

"  Ought  not, "  said  Julia,  "  every  provision  to  be  made, 
even  though  there  be  but  the  remotest  possibility  of  the  city 
sustaining  a  siege  ?  " 

"  The  most  fruitful  imagination, "  replied  Longinus, 
"  could  hardly  suggest  a  single  addition  to  what  is  already 
done,  to  render  Palmyra  impregnable.  And  long  before 
the  food  now  within  the  walls  could  be  exhausted,  any 
army  —  save  one  of  Arabs  of  the  desert  —  lying  before  them 
must  itself  perish.  But  these  things  the  council  and  senate 
will  maturely  weigh.  "  Longinus  departed. 

At  the  same  moment  that  he  left  the  apartment,  that 
Indian  slave  whom  I  have  often  seen  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
the  queen,  entered  where  we  were,  and  addressing  a  few 
words  to  the  Princess  Julia,  again  retreated.  I  could  not 
but  remark  again,  what  I  had  remarked  before,  her  graceful 
beauty,  and  especially  the  symmetry  of  her  form  and  elas- 

19 


290  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

ticity  of  her  step.  There  was  now  also  an  expression  in 
the  countenance  which,  notwithstanding  its  dark  beauty,  I 
liked  not,  as  I  had  often  before  liked  it  not,  when  I  had 
seen  her  in  the  presence  of  Zenobia. 

"  Princess, "  said  I,  "  is  the  slave  who  has  just  departed 
sincere  in  her  attachment  to  Zenobia  ? " 

"  I  cannot  doubt  it, "  she  replied ;  "  at  least  I  have  ob 
served  nothing  to  cause  me  to  doubt  it.  Thinking  herself 
injured  and  degraded  by  Zenobia,  she  may  perhaps  feel 
toward  her  as  the  captive  feels  toward  the  conqueror.  But 
if  this  be  so,  the  lip  breathes  it  not.  To  the  queen  she  is, 
as  far  as  the  eye  may  judge,  fondly  attached,  and  faithful 
to  the  trusts  reposed  in  her. " 

"  But  why, "  I  asked,  "  thinks  she  herself  injured  and 
degraded  ?  Is  she  not  what  she  seems  to  be,  a  slave  ?  " 

"  She  is  a  slave  by  the  chances  of  fortune  and  war,  not  by 
descent  or  purchase.  She  was  of  the  household  of  Sapor, 
when  his  tents,  wives,  and  slaves  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Odenatus,  and  by  him,  as  we  learned,  had  been  taken  in  his 
wars  with  an  Indian  nation.  In  her  own  country  she  was 
a  princess,  and  were  she  now  there,  were  queen.  Zenobia 's 
pride  is  gratified  by  using  her  for  the  purposes  she  does,  nor 
has  it  availed  to  intercede  in  her  behalf.  Yet  has  it  always 
seemed  as  if  a  strong  attachment  drew  the  fair  slave  to  our 
mother,  and  sure  I  am  that  Zenobia  greatly  esteems  her,  and 
save  in  one  respect,  maintains  and  holds  her  rather  as  an 
equal  than  inferior.  We  all  love  her.  Others  beside  your 
self  have  questioned  her  truth,  but  we  have  heeded  them 
not.  Upon  what,  may  I  ask,  have  you  founded  a  doubt  of 
her  sincerity  ? " 

"  I  can  scarcely  say, "  I  rejoined,  "  that  I  have  ground  to 
doubt  her  sincerity.  Indeed,  I  know  nothing  of  her  but 
what  you  have  now  rehearsed,  except  that,  a  few  days  since, 
as  I  retired  from  the  palace,  I  observed  her  near  the  eastern 
gate  in  earnest  conversation  with  Antiochus.  Soon  as  her 
eye  caught  me,  although  at  a  great  distance,  she  hastily 
withdrew  into  the  palace,  while  Antiochus  turned  toward 
the  neighbouring  street " 


THE   SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  291 

Julia  smiled.  "  Ah, "  said  she,  "  our  cousin  Antiochus, 
were  he  to  lose  all  hope  of  me,  would  hasten  to  throw  him 
self  at  the  feet  of  the  beautiful  Sindarina.  When  at  the 
palace,  his  eyes  can  hardly  be  drawn  from  her  face.  I  have 
been  told  he  exalts  her  above  her  great  mistress.  Were 
Antiochus  king,  I  can  hardly  doubt  that  Sindarina  were 
queen.  His  visit  to  the  palace  must  have  been  to  her 
alone.  Livia,  have  you  received  him  since  the  departure 
of  Zenobia  ? " 

Her  sister  had  not  seen  him.  I  said  no  more.  But  never 
have  I  read  aright  the  human  countenance,  if  in  her  there 
be  not  hidden  design  of  evil.  I  knew  not  before  this  in 
terview  her  history.  This  supplies  a  motive  for  a  treach 
erous  turn,  if  by  it  her  freedom  or  her  fortune  might  be 
achieved.  I  have  mentioned  my  suspicions  to  Longinus, 
but  he  sees  nothing  in  them. 

The  intelligence  thus  received  has  effectually  sobered  the 
giddy  citizens  of  Palmyra.     They  are  now  of  opinion  that 
war  really  exists,  and  that  they  are  a  party  concerned.     The 
merchants,  who  are  the  princes  of  the  place,  perceiving  their 
traffic  to  decline  or  cease,  begin  to  interest  themselves  in  the 
affairs  of  the  state.     So  long  as  wealth  flowed  in  as  ever,  and 
the  traders  from  India  and  Persia  saw  no  obstruction  in  the 
state  of  things  to  a  safe  transaction  of  their  various  busi 
nesses,  and  transportation  of  their  valuable  commodities, 
the  merchants  left  the  state  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  what 
ever  opinions  they  held,  expressed  them  only  in  their  own 
circles,  thinking  but  of  accumulation  by  day,  and  of  osten 
tatious  expenditure  by  night.     I  have   often   heard   that 
their  general  voice,  had  it  been  raised,  would  have  been 
hostile  to  the  policy  that  has  prevailed.     But  it  was  not 
raised;  and  now,  when  too  late,  and  these  mercenary  and 
selfish  beings  are  driven  to  some  action  by  the  loss  of  their 
accustomed  gains,   a  large  and  violent  party   is    forming 
among  them,  who  loudly  condemn  the  conduct  of  the  queen 
and  her  ministers,  and  advocate  immediate  submission  to 
whatever  terms  Aurelian  may  impose.     This  party,  how 
ever,  powerful  though  it  may  be  through  wealth,  is  weak 


292  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

in  numbers.  The  people  are  opposed  to  them,  and  go  en 
thusiastically  with  the  queen,  and  do  not  scruple  to  exult 
in  the  distresses  of  the  merchants.  Their  present  impo 
tence  is  but  a  just  retribution  upon  them  for  their  criminal 
apathy  during  the  early  stages  of  the  difficulty.  Then  had 
they  taken  a  part,  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  in  the  public 
deliberations,  the  rupture  which  has  ensued  might,  it  is 
quite  likely,  have  been  prevented.  Their  voice  would  have 
been  a  loud  and  strong  one,  and  would  have  been  heard. 
They  deserve  to  lose  their  liberties  who  will  not  spare  time 
from  selfish  pursuits  to  guard  them.  Where  a  government 
is  popular,  even  to  no  greater  extent  than  this,  it  behoves 
every  individual,  if  he  values  the  power  delegated  to  him, 
and  would  retain  it,  to  use  it;  otherwise  it  is  by  degrees 
and  insensibly  lost,  and  once  absorbed  into  the  hands  of 
the  few,  it  is  not  easily,  if  at  all,  to  be  recovered. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  activity  displayed  on  all  hands  in 
every  preparation  which  the  emergency  demands.  New  levies 
of  men  are  making,  and  a  camp  again  forming  to  reinforce 
the  queen  at  Emesa,  or  in  its  neighbourhood,  if  she  should 
not  be  compelled  to  retire  upon  Palmyra.  In  the  mean  time, 
we  wait  with  beating  hearts  for  the  next  arrival  of  couriers. 

After  an  anxious  suspense  of  several  days,  all  my  worst 
apprehensions  are  realized.  Messengers  have  arrived  an 
nouncing  the  defeat  of  Zenobia  before  the  walls  of  Emesa, 
and  with  them  fugitives  from  the  conquered  army  are  pour 
ing  in.  Every  hour  now  do  we  expect  the  approach  of  the 
queen,  with  the  remnant  of  her  forces.  Our  intelligence 
is  in  the  hand  of  Zenobia  herself.  She  has  written  thus 
to  her  minister :  — 

"  Septimia  Zenobia  to  Dionysius  Longinus. 

"  I  am  again  defeated.  Our  cavalry  were  at  first  victorious, 
as  before  at  Antioch.  The  Eoman  horse  were  routed.  But 
the  infantry  of  Aurelian,  in  number  greatly  superior  to  ours, 
falling  upon  our  ranks  when  deprived  of  the  support  of  the 
cavalry,  obtained  an  easy  victory ;  while  their  horse,  rally 
ing,  and  increased  by  reinforcements  from  Antioch,  drove 


THE   SHADOW  OF  THE   CLOUD.  293 

us  in  turn  at  all  points,  penetrating  even  to  our  camp,  and 
completed  the  disaster  of  the  day.  I  have  now  no  power 
with  which  to  cope  with  Aurelian.  It  remains  but  to  re 
treat  upon  Palmyra,  there  placing  our  reliance  upon  the 
strength  of  our  walls,  and  upon  our  Armenian,  Saracen,  and 
Persian  allies.  I  do  not  despair,  although  the  favour  of  the 
gods  seems  withdrawn.  Farewell.  " 

The  city  is  in  the  utmost  consternation.  All  power  seems 
paralyzed.  The  citizens  stand  together  in  knots  at  the  cor 
ners  of  the  streets,  like  persons  struck  dumb,  and  without 
command  of  either  their  bodies  or  their  minds.  The  first 
feeling  was,  and  it  was  freely  expressed,  "  To  contend  fur 
ther  is  hopeless.  The  army  is  destroyed ;  another  cannot 
now  be  recruited;  and  if  it  could,  before  it  were  effected, 
Aurelian  would  be  at  the  gates  with  his  countless  legions, 
and  the  city  necessarily  surrender.  We  must  now  make 
the  best  terms  we  can,  and  receive  passively  conditions 
which  we  can  no  longer  oppose. " 

But  soon  other  sentiments  took  the  place  of  these,  and 
being  urged  by  those  who  entertained  them  with  zeal,  they 
have  prevailed. 

"  Why, "  they  have  urged,  "  should  we  yield  before  that 
becomes  the  only  alternative?  At  present  we  are  secure 
within  the  walls  of  our  city,  which  may  well  defy  all  the 
power  of  a  besieging  army.  Those  most  skilled  in  such 
matters,  and  who  have  visited  the  places  in  the  world 
deemed  most  impregnable,  assert  that  the  defences  of  Pal 
myra  are  perfect,  and  surpassed  by  none ;  and  that  any 
army,  whether  a  Koman  or  any  other,  must  perish  before  it 
would  be  possible  either  to  force  our  gates  or  reduce  us  by 
hunger.  Besides,  what  could  we  expect  by  submitting  to 
the  conqueror,  but  national  extinction  ?  Our  city  would  be 
pillaged ;  our  principal  citizens  murdered ;  perhaps  a  gen 
eral  slaughter  made  of  the  inhabitants,  without  regard  to 
age  or  sex.  The  mercies  of  Kome  have  ever  been  cruel; 
and  Aurelian  we  know  to  be  famed  for  the  severity  of  his 
temper.  No  commander  of  modern  times  has  instituted  so 
terrible  a  discipline  in  his  army,  and  Kome  itself  has  felt 


294  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  might  of  his  iron  hand;  it  is  always  on  his  sword. 
What  can  strangers,  foreigners,  enemies,  and  rebels,  as  he 
regards  us,  expect  ?  And  are  the  people  of  Palmyra  ready 
to  abandon  their  queen,  to  whom  we  owe  all  this  great 
prosperity,  this  wide  renown,  this  extended  empire? 
But  for  Zenobia,  we  were  now  what  we  for  so  many  ages 
were,  a  petty  trading  village, —  a  community  of  money 
makers,  hucksters,  and  barterers, —  without  arts,  without 
science,  without  fame,  destitute  of  all  that  adorns  and 
elevates  a  people.  Zenobia  has  raised  us  to  empire ;  it  is 
Zenobia  who  has  made  us  the  conquerors  of  Persia,  and  the 
rival  of  Kome.  Shame  to  those  who  will  desert  her !  Shame 
to  those  who  will  distrust  a  genius  that  has  hitherto  shone 
with  greater  lustre  in  proportion  to  the  difficulties  that 
have  opposed  it !  Who  can  doubt  that,  by  lending  her  all 
our  energies  and  means,  she  will  yet  triumph  ?  Shame  and 
death  to  the  enemies  of  the  queen  and  the  state !  " 

Sentiments  like  these  are  now  everywhere  heard,  and  the 
courage  and  enthusiasm  of  the  people  are  rising  again. 
Those  who  are  for  war  and  resistance,  are  always  the  popu 
lar  party.  There  is  an  instinctive  love  of  liberty  and  power, 
and  a  horror  at  the  thought  of  losing  them,  that  come  to  the 
aid  of  the  weak,  and  often  cause  them  to  resist,  under  cir 
cumstances  absolutely  desperate.  Palmyra  is  not  weak ; 
but  to  one  who  contemplates  both  parties,  and  compares 
their  relative  strength,  it  is  little  short  of  madness  to  hope 
to  hold  out  with  ultimate  success  against  the  power  of 
Eome.  But  such  is  the  determination  of  the  great  body  of 
the  people.  And  the  queen,  when  she  shall  approach  with 
her  broken  and  diminished  and  defeated  army,  will  meet 
the  welcome  of  a  conqueror.  Never  before  in  the  history 
of  the  world  was  there  so  true-hearted  a  devotion  of  a  whole 
people  to  the  glory,  interests,  and  happiness  of  one;  and 
never  was  such  devotion  so  deserved. 

The  Princess  Julia  possesses  herself  like  one  armed  for 
such  .adversities,  not  by  nature,  but  by  reflection  and  phi 
losophy.  She  was  designed  for  scenes  of  calmness  and 
peace.  But  she  has  made  herself  equal  to  times  of  diffi- 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  295 

culty,  tumult,  and  danger.  She  shrinks  not  from  the 
duties  which  her  station  now  imposes  upon  her,  but  seems 
like  one  who  possesses  resolution  enough  to  reign  with  the 
vigour  and  power  of  Zenobia.  Her  two  brothers,  who  have 
remained  in  the  city,  Herennianus  and  Timolaus,  leave  all 
affairs  of  state  to  her  and  the  council ;  they  preferring  the 
base  pleasures  of  sensuality,  in  which  they  wallow  day 
and  night,  in  company  with  Antiochus  and  his  crew.  If 
a  deep  depression  is  sometimes  seen  to  rest  upon  her  spirit, 
it  comes  rather  when  she  thinks  of  her  mother,  than  of  her 
self.  She  experiences  already,  through  her  lively  sympa 
thies,  the  grief  that  will  rage  in  the  soul  of  Zenobia,  should 
fortune  deprive  her  of  her  crown. 

"  Zenobia, "  she  has  said  to  me, —  "  Zenobia  cannot  descend 
from  a  throne  without  suffering  such  as  common  souls  can 
not  conceive.  A  goddess  driven  from  heaven  and  the  com 
pany  of  the  gods  could  not  endure  more.  To  possess  and  to 
exercise  power  is  to  her  heaven ;  to  be  despoiled  of  it,  Tar 
tarus  and  death.  She  was  born  for  a  throne,  though  not  on 
one ;  and  how  she  graces  it,  you  and  the  world  have  seen. 
She  will  display  fortitude  under  adversity  and  defeat,  I  am 
sure ;  and  to  the  common  eye,  the  same  soul,  and  vigorous 
with  all  its  energies,  will  appear  to  preside  over  her.  But 
the  prospect  or  expectation  of  a  fall  from  her  high  place  will 
rack  her  with  torments  such  as  no  mortal  can  hope  to  as 
suage.  To  witness  her  grief,  without  the  power  to  relieve, 
—  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  it.  " 

In  Livia  there  is  more  of  the  mother.  She  is  proud, 
imperious,  and  ambitious,  in  a  greater  measure  even  than 
Zenobia.  Young  as  she  is,  she  believes  herself  of  a  differ 
ent  nature  from  others, —  she  born  to  rule,  others  to  serve. 
It  is  not  the  idea  of  her  country  and  its  renown  that  fills 
and  sways  her,  but  of  a  throne  and  its  attendant  glories. 
So  she  could  reign  a  queen,  with  a  queen's  state  and  hom 
age,  it  would  matter  little  to  her  whether  it  were  in  Persia 
or  Palmyra.  Yet  with  those  who  are  her  equals  is  she  free 
and  even  sportive,  light  of  heart,  and  overflowing  with  ex 
cess  of  life.  Her  eye  burns  with  the  bright  lustre  of  a  star, 


296  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

and  her  step  is  that  of  the  mistress  of  a  world.  She  is  not 
terrified  at  the  prospect  before  her,  for  her  confident  and 
buoyant  spirit  looks  down  all  opposition,  and  predicts  a 
safe  egress  from  the  surrounding  peril,  and  an  ascent, 
through  this  very  calamity  itself,  to  a  position  more  illus 
trious  still. 

"  Julia, "  said  she,  on  one  occasion  of  late,  while  I  sat  a 
listener,  "  supposing  that  the  people  of  Palmyra  should  set 
aside  our  renowned  brothers,  and  again  prefer  a  woman's 
sway,  would  not  you  renounce  your  elder  right  in  favour  of 
me  ?  I  do  not  think  you  would  care  to  be  a  queen  ?  " 

"  That  is  true,  *  replied  Julia,  "  I  should  not  care  to  be  a 
queen;  and  yet,  I  believe,  I  should  reign  that  you  might 
not.  Though  I  covet  not  the  exercise  of  power,  I  believe 
I  should  use  it  more  wisely  than  you  would,  who  do. " 

"  I  am  sure, "  said  Livia,  "  I  feel  within  me  that  very 
superiority  to  others  which  constitutes  the  royal  character, 
and  would  fit  me  eminently  to  reign.  He  cannot  be  a 
proper  slave  who  has  not  the  soul  of  a  slave.  Neither  can 
he  reign  well  who  has  not  the  soul  of  a  monarch.  I  am 
suited  to  a  throne,  just  as  others  are  by  the  providence  of  the 
gods  suited  to  uphold  the  throne,  and  be  the  slaves  of  it. " 

"  Were  you  queen,  Livia,  it  would  be  for  your  own  sake ; 
to  enjoy  the  pleasures  which,  as  you  imagine,  accom 
pany  that  state,  and  exercise  over  others  the  powers  with 
which  you  were  clothed,  and  receive  the  homage  of  depend 
ent  subjects.  Your  own  magnificence  and  luxurious  state 
would  be  your  principal  thought.  Is  that  being  suited  to 
a  throne  ? " 

"  But, "  said  Livia,  "  I  should  not  be  guilty  of  intentional 
wrong  toward  any.  So  long  as  my  people  obeyed  my  laws 
and  supported  my  government,  there  would  be  no  causes  of 
difficulty.  But  surely  if  there  were^ resistance,  and  any 
either  insulted  or  opposed  my  authority,  it  would  be  a 
proper  occasion  for  violent  measures.  For  there  must  be 
some  to  govern,  as  well  as  others  to  obey.  All  cannot  rule. 
Government  is  founded  in  necessity.  Kings  and  queens  are 
of  Nature's  making.  It  would  be  right,  then,  to  use  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  297 

utmost  severity  toward  such  as  ceased  to  obey,  as  the  slave 
his  master.  How  could  the  master  obtain  the  service  of 
the  slave,  if  there  were  not  reposed  in  him  power  to  punish  ? 
Shall  the  master  of  millions  have  less  ?  " 

"  Dear  Livia,  your  principles  are  suited  only  to  some 
Persian  despotism.  You  very  soberly  imagine,  unless  you 
jest,  that  governments  exist  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
govern, —  that  kings  and  queens  are  the  objects  for  which 
governments  are  instituted. " 

"  Truly,  it  is  very  much  so.  Otherwise  what  would  the 
king  or  queen  of  an  empire  be  but  a  poor  official,  main 
tained  in  a  sort  of  state  by  the  people,  and  paid  by  them 
for  the  discharge  of  a  certain  set  of  duties  which  must  be 
performed  by  some  one, — but  who  possesses,  in  fact,  no  will 
or  power  of  his  own, — rather  the  servant  of  the  people  than 
their  master. " 

"  I  think, "  replied  Julia,  "  you  have  given  a  very  just 
definition  of  the  imperial  office.  A  king,  queen,  or  em 
peror  is  indeed  the  servant  of  the  people.  He  exists  not 
for  his  own  pleasure  or  glory,  but  for  their  good.  Else  he 
is  a  tyrant,  a  despot  —  not  a  sovereign.  " 

"  It  is  then, "  said  Livia,  "  only  a  tyrant  or  a  despot  that 
I  would  consent  to  be.  Not  in  any  bad  meaning  of  the 
terms,  for  you  know,  Julia,  that  I  could  not  be  cruel  or 
unjust.  But  unless  I  could  reign  as  one  independent  of 
my  people,  and  irresponsible  to  them,  —  not  in  name  only, 
but  in  reality  above  them,  receiving  the  homage  due  to  the 
queenly  character  and  office,  —  I  would  not  reign  at  all.  To 
sit  upon  a  throne,  a  mere  painted  puppet  shaken  by  the 
breath  of  every  conceited  or  discontented  citizen,  a  butt  for 
every  shaft  to  fly  at,  a  mere  hireling,  a  slave  in  a  queen's 
robe,  the  mouthpiece  for  others  to  speak  by  and  proclaim 
their  laws,  with  no  will  or  power  of  my  own  —  no,  no.  It 
is  not  such  that  Zenobia  is !  " 

"  She  is  more  than  that,  indeed, "  replied  Julia ;  "  she  is 
in  some  sense  a  despot :  her  will  is  sovereign  in  the  state ; 
she  is  an  absolute  prince  in  fact ;  but  it  is  through  the  force 
of  her  own  character  and  virtues,  not  by  the  consent  and 


298  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

expressed  allowance  of  her  subjects.  Her  genius,  her  good 
ness,  her  justice,  and  her  services  have  united  to  confer 
upon  her  this  dangerous  pre-eminence.  But  who  else,  with 
power  such  as  hers,  would  reign  as  she  has  reigned  ?  An 
absolute  will,  guided  by  perfect  wisdom  and  goodness,  con 
stitutes,  I  indeed  believe,  the  simplest  and  best  form  of 
human  government.  It  is  a  copy  of  that  of  the  universe, 
under  the  providence  of  the  gods.  But  an  absolute  will, 
moved  only  or  chiefly  by  the  selfish  love  of  regal  state  and 
homage,  or  by  a  very  defective  wisdom  and  goodness,  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  very  worst  form  of  human  government. 
You  would  make  an  unequalled  queen,  Livia,  if  to  act  the 
queen  were  all, —  if  you  were  but  to  sit  and  receive  the  wor 
ship  of  the  slaves,  your  subjects.  As  you  sit  now,  I  can 
almost  believe  you  queen  of  the  East!  Juno's  air  was  not 
more  imperial,  nor  the  beauty  of  Venus  more  enslaving. 
Piso  will  not  dissent  from  what  I  began  with,  or  now  end 
with. " 

"  I  think  you  have  delivered  a  true  doctrine, "  I  replied, 
"  but  which  few  who  have  once  tasted  of  power  will  admit. 
Liberty  would  be  in  great  danger,  were  Livia  queen.  Her 
subjects  would  be  too  willing  to  forget  their  rights,  through 
a  voluntary  homage  to  her  queenly  character  and  state. 
Their  chains  would,  however,  be  none  the  less  chains  that 
they  were  voluntarily  assumed.  That,  indeed,  is  the  most 
dangerous  slavery  which  men  impose  upon  themselves,  for 
it  does  not  bear  the  name  of  slavery,  but  some  other ;  yet, 
as  it  is  real,  the  character  of  the  slave  is  silently  and  un 
consciously  formed,  and  then  unconsciously  transmitted.  " 

"  I  perceive, "  said  Livia,  "  if  what  you  philosophers  urge 
be  true,  that  I  am  rather  meant  by  nature  for  a  Persian  or  a 
Eoman  throne  than  any  other.  I  would  be  absolute,  though 
it  were  over  but  a  village.  A  divided  and  imperfect  power 
I  would  not  accept,  though  it  were  over  the  world.  But 
the  gods  grant  it  long  ere  any  one  be  called  in  Palmyra  to 
fill  the  place  of  Zenobia.  " 

"  Happy  were  it  for  mankind, "  said  Julia,  "  could  she 
live  and  reign  forever !  " 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE   CLOUD.  299 

Thus  do  all  differences  cease  and  run  into  harmony  at  the 
name  of  Zenobia. 

Every  hour  do  we  look  for  the  arrival  of  the  army. 

As  I  sit  writing  at  my  open  window,  overlooking  the 
street  and  spacious  courts  of  the  Temple  of  Justice,  I  am 
conscious  of  an  unusual  disturbance, —  the  people  at  a  dis 
tance  are  running  in  one  direction  ;  the  clamour  approaches ; 
and  now  I  hear  the  cries  of  the  multitude,  "  The  queen, 
the  queen !  " 

I  fly  to  the  walls. 

I  resume  my  pen.  The  alarm  was  a  true  one.  Upon 
gaining  the  streets,  I  found  the  populace  all  pouring  toward 
the  gate  of  the  desert,  in  which  direction,  it  was  affirmed, 
the  queen  was  making  her  approach.  Upon  reaching  it, 
and  ascending  one  of  its  lofty  towers,  I  beheld,  from  the 
verge  of  the  horizon  to  within  a  mile  of  the  walls,  the 
whole  plain  filled  with  the  scattered  forces  of  Zenobia,  a 
cloud  of  dust  resting  over  the  whole,  and  marking  out  the 
extent  of  ground  they  covered.  As  the  advanced  detach 
ments  drew  near,  how  different  a  spectacle  did  they  present 
from  that  bright  morning  when,  glittering  in  steel,  and 
full  of  the  fire  of  expected  victory,  they  proudly  took  their 
way  toward  the  places  from  which  they  now  were  return 
ing,  a  conquered,  spoiled,  and  dispirited  remnant,  covered 
with  the  dust  of  a  long  march,  and  wearily  dragging  their 
limbs  beneath  the  rays  of  a  burning  sun.  Yet  were  their 
order  and  military  discipline  preserved,  even  under  circum 
stances  so  depressing,  and  which  usually  are  an  excuse  for 
their  total  relaxation.  It  was  the  silent,  dismal  march  of 
a  funeral  train,  rather  than  the  hurried  flight  of  a  routed 
and  discomfited  army.  There  was  the  stiff  and  formal  mili 
tary  array,  but  the  life  and  spirit  of  an  elevated  and  proud 
soldiery  were  gone.  They  moved  with  method  to  the  sound 
of  clanging  instruments,  and  the  long,  shrill  blast  of  the 
trumpet,  but  they  moved  as  mourners.  They  seemed  as  if 
they  came  to  bury  their  queen. 

Yet  the  scene  changed  to  a  brighter  aspect,  as  the  army 


300  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  walls,  and  the  city  throwing 
open  her  gates,  the  populace  burst  forth,  and  with  loud  and 
prolonged  shouts,  welcomed  them  home.  These  shouts  sent 
new  life  into  the  hearts  of  the  desponding  ranks,  and  with 
brightened  faces  and  a  changed  air,  they  waved  their  arms 
and  banners,  and  returned  shout  for  shout.  As  they  passed 
through  the  gates  to  the  ample  quarters  provided  within  the 
walls,  a  thousand  phrases  of  hearty  greeting  were  showered 
down  upon  them  from  those  who  lined  the  walls,  the  tow 
ers,  and  the  way-side,  which  seemed,  from  the  effects  pro 
duced  in  those  on  whom  they  fell,  a  more  quickening 
restorative  than  could  have  been  any  medicine  or  food 
that  had  ministered  only  to  the  body. 

The  impatience  of  the  multitude  to  behold  and  receive 
the  queen  was  hardly  to  be  restrained  from  breaking  forth  in 
some  violent  way.  They  were  ready  to  rush  upon  the  great 
avenue,  bearing  aside  the  troops  that  they  might  the  sooner 
greet  her.  When,  at  length,  the  centre  of  the  army  ap 
proached,  and  the  armed  chariot  appeared  in  which  Zenobia 
sat,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  knew  no  bounds.  They 
broke  through  all  restraint,  and,  with  cries  that  filled  the 
heavens,  pressed  toward  her, —  the  soldiers  catching  the 
frenzy  and  joining  them,  —  and  quickly  detaching  the  horses 
from  her  carriage,  themselves  drew  her  into  the  city  just 
as  if  she  had  returned  victor  with  Aurelian  in  her  train. 
There  was  no  language  of  devotion  and  loyalty  that  did  not 
meet  her  ear,  nor  any  sign  of  affection  that  could  be  made 
from  any  distance,  from  the  plains,  the  walls,  the  gates, 
the  higher  buildings  of  the  city,  the  roofs  of  which  were 
thronged,  that  did  not  meet  her  eye.  It  was  a  testimony  of 
love  so  spontaneous  and  universal,  a  demonstration  of  con 
fidence  and  unshaken  attachment  so  hearty  and  sincere,  that 
Zenobia  was  more  than  moved  by  it  —  she  was  subdued ; 
and  she,  who,  by  her  people,  had  never  before  been  seen 
to  weep,  bent  her  head  and  buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 

With  what  an  agony  of  expectation,  while  this  scene  was 
passing,  did  I  await  the  appearance  of  Fausta  and  Grac 
chus  and  Calpurnius ;  if,  indeed,  I  were  destined  ever  to 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  301 

see  them  again.  I  waited  long,  and  with  pain,  but,  the 
gods  be  praised,  not  in  vain,  nor  to  meet  with  disappoint 
ment  only.  Not  far  in  the  rear  of  Zenobia,  at  the  head  of 
a  squadron  of  cavalry,  rode,  as  my  eye  distinctly  informed 
me,  those  whom  I  sought.  No  sooner  did  they  in  turn 
approach  the  gates,  than  almost  the  same  welcome  that  had 
been  lavished  upon  Zenobia  was  repeated  for  Fausta,  Grac 
chus,  and  Calpurnius.  The  names  of  Calpurnius  and  Fausta 
—  of  Calpurnius,  as  he  who  had  saved  the  army  at  Antioch  ; 
of  Fausta,  as  the  intrepid  and  fast  friend  of  the  queen  — 
were  especially  heard  from  a  thousand  lips,  joined  with 
every  title  of  honour.  My  voice  was  not  wanting  in  the 
loud  acclaim.  It  reached  the  ears  of  Fausta,  who,  starting 
and  looking  upward,  caught  my  eye  just  as  she  passed  be 
neath  the  arch  of  the  vast  gateway.  I  then  descended  from 
my  tower  of  observation  and  joined  the  crowds  who  thronged 
the  close  ranks,  as  they  filed  along  the  streets  of  the  city. 
I  pressed  upon  the  steps  of  my  friends,  never  being  able  to 
keep  my  eyes  from  the  forms  of  those  I  loved  so  well,  whom 
I  had  so  feared  to  lose,  and  so  rejoiced  to  behold  returned 
alive  and  unhurt. 

All  day  the  army  has  continued  pouring  into  the  city, 
and  beside  the  army  greater  crowds  still  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  suburbs,  who,  knowing  that  before  another  day  shall 
end,  the  Eomans  may  encamp  before  the  walls,  are  scatter 
ing  in  all  directions, —  multitudes  taking  refuge  in  the  city, 
but  greater  numbers  still,  mounted  upon  elephants,  camels, 
dromedaries,  and  horses,  flying  into  the  country  to  the 
north.  The  whole  region,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  seems 
in  commotion,  as  if  society  were  dissolved,  and  breaking  up 
from  its  foundations.  The  noble  and  the  rich,  whose  means 
are  ample,  gather  together  their  valuables,  and,  with  their 
children  and  friends,  seek  the  nearest  parts  of  Mesopotamia, 
where  they  will  remain  in  safety  till  the  siege  shall  be 
raised.  The  poor,  and  such  as  cannot  reach  the  Euphrates, 
flock  into  the  city,  bringing  with  them  what  little  of  pro 
visions  or  money  they  may  possess,  and  are  quartered  upon 
the  inhabitants,  or  take  up  a  temporary  abode  in  the  open 


302  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

squares,  or  in  the  courts  and  porticos  of  palaces  and  temples, 
—  the  softness  and  serenity  of  the  climate  rendering  even 
so  much  as  the  shelter  of  a  tent  superfluous.  But  by  this 
vast  influx  the  population  of  the  city  cannot  be  less  than 
doubled,  and  I  should  tremble  for  the  means  of  subsistence 
for  so  large  a  multitude,  did  I  not  know  the  inexhaustible 
magazines  of  corn  laid  up  by  the  prudent  foresight  of  the 
queen,  in  anticipation  of  the  possible  occurrence  of  the 
emergency  which  has  now  arrived.  A  long  time  —  longer 
than  he  himself  would  be  able  to  subsist  his  army  —  must 
Aurelian  lie  before  Palmyra  ere  he  can  hope  to  reduce  it  by 
famine.  What  impression  his  engines  may  be  able  to  make 
upon  the  walls  remains  to  be  seen.  Periander  pronounces 
the  city  impregnable.  My  own  judgment,  formed  upon  a 
comparison  of  it  with  the  cities  most  famous  in  the  world 
for  the  strength  of  their  defences,  would  agree  with  his. 

Following  on  in  the  wake  of  the  squadron  to  which  Fausta 
was  attached,  I  wished  to  reach  the  camp  at  the  same  time 
with  herself  and  Gracchus  and  my  brother ;  but  owing  to 
the  press  in  the  streets,  arising  from  the  causes  just  speci 
fied,  I  was  soon  separated  from  and  lost  sight  of  it.  Desir 
ous,  however,  to  meet  them,  I  urged  my  way  along  with 
much  labour  till  I  reached  the  quarter  of  the  city  assigned 
to  the  troops,  and  where  I  found  the  tents  and  the  open 
ground  already  occupied.  I  sought  in  vain  for  Fausta. 
While  I  waited,  hoping  still  to  see  her,  I  stood  leaning 
upon  a  pile  of  shields  which  the  soldiers,  throwing  off  their 
arms,  had  just  made,  and  watching  them  as  they  were  some 
disencumbering  themselves  of  their  armour,  others  unclasp 
ing  the  harness  of  their  horses,  others  arranging  their  weap 
ons  into  regular  forms,  and  others  having  gone  through  their 
first  tasks  were  stretching  themselves  at  rest  beneath  the 
shadow  of  their  tents,  or  of  some  branching  tree.  Near 
me  sat  a  soldier  who,  apparently  too  fatigued  to  rid  him 
self  of  his  heavy  armour,  had  thrown  himself  upon  the 
ground,  and  was  just  taking  off  his  helmet,  and  wiping  the 
dust  and  sweat  from  his  face,  while  a  little  boy,  observing 
his  wants,  ran  to  a  neighbouring  fountain,  and  filling  a 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.         303 

vessel  with  water,  returned  and  held  it  to  him,  saying, 
"  Drink,  soldier,  this  will  make  you  stronger  than  your 
armour. " 

"  You  little  traitor, "  said  the  soldier,  "  art  not  ashamed 
to  bring  drink  to  me,  who  have  helped  to  betray  the  city  ? 
Beware,  or  a  sharp  sword  will  cut  you  in  two.  " 

"  I  thought, "  replied  the  child,  nothing  daunted,  "  that 
you  were  a  soldier  of  Palmyra  who  had  been  to  fight  the 
Komans.  But  whoever  you  may  be,  I  am  sure  you  need 
the  water. " 

"  But, "  rejoined  the  soldier,  swallowing  at  long  draughts, 
as  if  it  had  been  nectar,  the  cooling  drink,  "  do  I  deserve 
water,  or  any  of  these  cowards  here,  who  have  been  beaten 
by  the  Komans,  and  so  broken  the  heart  of  our  good  queen, 
and  possibly  lost  her  her  throne  ?  Answer  me  that.  " 

"  You  have  done  what  you  could,  I  know, "  replied  the 
boy,  "  because  you  are  a  Palmyrene ;  and  who  can  do  more  ? 
I  carry  round  the  streets  of  the  city,  in  this  palm-leaf  bas 
ket,  date-cakes,  which  I  sell  to  those  who  love  them.  But 
does  my  mother  blame  me  because  I  do  not  always  come 
home  with  an  empty  basket  ?  I  sell  what  I  can.  Should 
I  be  punished  for  doing  what  I  cannot  ?" 

"  Get  you  gone,  you  rogue, "  replied  the  soldier,  "  you 
talk  like  a  Christian  boy,  and  they  have  a  new  way  of  re 
turning  good  for  evil.  But  here,  if  you  have  cakes  in  your 
basket,  give  me  one,  and  I  will  give  you  a  penny,  all  the 
way  from  Antioch.  See !  there  is  the  head  of  Aurelian  on 
it.  Take  care  he  don't  eat  you  up  —  or  at  least  your  cakes. 
But  hark  you,  little  boy ;  do  you  see  yonder  that  old  man 
with  a  bald  head,  leaning  against  his  shield  ?  Go  to  him 
with  your  cakes. " 

The  boy  ran  off. 

"  Friend, "  said  I,  addressing  him,  "  your  march  has  not 
lost  you  your  spirits,  you  can  jest  yet. " 

"  Truly  I  can ;  if  the  power  to  do  that  were  gone,  then 
were  all  lost.  A  good  jest  in  a  time  of  misfortune  is  food 
and  drink.  It  is  strength  to  the  arm,  digestion  to  the 
stomach,  courage  to  the  heart  It  is  better  than  wisdom  or 


304  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

wine.  A  prosperous  man  may  afford  to  be  melancholy ;  but 
if  the  miserable  are  so,  they  are  worse  than  dead, —  but  it  is 
sure  to  kill  them.  Near  me  I  had  a  comrade  whose  wit  it 
was  alone  that  kept  life  in  me  upon  the  desert.  All  the 
way  from  Emesa,  had  it  not  been  for  the  tears  of  laughter, 
those  of  sorrow  and  shame  would  have  killed  me. " 

"  But,  in  the  words  of  the  little  cake  urchin,  you  did  what 
you  could.  The  fates  were  opposed  to  you.  " 

"  If  all  had  done  as  much  and  as  well  as  some,  we  should 
have  had  the  fates  in  our  own  keeping.  Had  it  not  been 
for  that  artifice  of  the  Eomans  at  Antioch,  we  should  have 
now  been  rather  in  Home  than  here,  and  it  was  a  woman, — 
or  girl  rather,  as  I  am  told, —  the  daughter  of  Gracchus,  who 
first  detected  the  cheat,  and  strove  to  save  the  army;  but 
it  was  too  late.  " 

"  Were  you  near  her  ?  " 

"  Was  I  not  ?  Not  the  great  Zabdas  himself  put  more 
mettle  into  the  troops  than  did  that  fiery  spirit  and  her 
black  horse.  And,  beyond  doubt,  she  would  have  perished 
through  an  insane  daring,  had  not  the  queen  in  time  called 
her  from  the  field  and  afterwards  kept  her  within  her  sight 
and  reach.  Her  companion,  a  Eoman  turned  Palmyrene  as 
I  heard,  was  like  one  palsied  when  she  was  gone,  till  when 
he  had  been  the  very  Mars  of  the  field.  As  it  was,  he  was 
the  true  hero  of  the  day.  He  brought  to  my  mind  Odena- 
tus.  'T  was  so  he  looked  that  day  we  entered  Ctesiphon. 
I  could  wish  —  and  hope,  too  —  that  he  might  share  the 
throne  of  Zenobia,  but  that  all  the  world  knows  what  a 
man-hater  she  is.  But  were  you  not  there  ?  " 

"  No.     It  could  not  be.     I  remained  in  the  city.  " 

"  Ten  thousand  more  of  such  men  as  you,  and  we  would 
not  have  fallen  back  upon  Emesa,  nor  left  Antioch  without 
the  head  of  Aurelian.  But  alas  for  it,  the  men  of  Palmyra 
are  men  of  silk,  and  love  their  pleasures  too  well  to  be  free. 
I  should  call  them  women1,  but  for  Zenobia,  and  the  daugh 
ter  of  Gracchus. " 

"  Do  not  take  me  for  one  of  them.  I  am  a  Eoman ,  and 
could  not  fight  against  my  country.  " 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  805 

"  A  Koman !  and  what  makes  you  here  ?  Suppose  I  were 
to  run  you  through  with  this  spear  ?  " 

"  Give  me  another,  and  you  are  welcome  to  try. " 

"  Am  I  so  ?  Then  will  I  not  do  it.  Give  a  man  his  will, 
and  he  no  longer  cares  for  it.  Besides,  having  escaped  with 
hazard  from  the  clutches  of  one  Roman,  I  will  not  encoun 
ter  another.  Dost  thou  know  that  demon  Aurelian  ?  Half 
who  fell,  fell  by  his  hand.  His  sword  made  no  more  of  a 
man  in  steel  armour,  than  mine  would  of  a  naked  slave. 
Many  a  tall  Palmyrene  did  he  split  to  the  saddle,  falling 
both  ways.  The  ranks  broke  and  fled  wherever  he  ap 
peared.  Death  could  not  keep  pace  with  him.  The  Eoman 
Piso  —  of  our  side  —  sought  him  over  the  field,  to  try  his 
fortune  with  him,  but  the  gods  protected  him  and  he  found 
him  not;  otherwise  his  body  were  now  food  for  hyenas. 
No  arm  of  mortal  mould  can  cope  with  him.  Mine  is  not 
despicable, —  there  is  not  its  match  in  Palmyra;  but  I 
would  not  encounter  Aurelian  unless  I  were  in  love  with 
death. " 

"  It  is  as  you  say,  I  well  know.  He  is  reputed  in  our 
army  to  have  killed  more  with  his  single  arm  in  battle, 
than  any  known  in  Roman  history.  Our  camp  resounds 
with  songs  which  celebrate  his  deeds  of  blood.  His  slain 
are  counted  by  thousands,  nothing  less.  " 

"  The  gods  blast  him  ere  he  be  seen  before  the  walls  of 
Palmyra ;  our  chance  were  better  against  double  the  num 
ber  of  legions  under  another  general.  The  general  makes 
the  soldier.  The  Roman  infantry  are  so  many  Aurelians. 
Yet  to-morrow's  sun  will  see  him  here.  I  am  free  to  say, 
I  tremble  for  Palmyra.  A  war  ill  begun,  will,  if  auguries 
are  aught,  end  worse.  Last  night  the  sun  was  full  of  angry 
flashes,  both  white  and  red.  While  the  army  slept  over 
wrought  upon  the  desert,  and  the  silence  of  death  was 
around,  the  watches  heard  sounds  as  of  the  raging  of  a 
battle,  distinct  and  clear,  dying  away  in  groans  as  of  a  host 
perishing  under  the  sword  and  battle-axe.  These  horrid 
sounds  at  length  settled  over  the  sleeping  men,  till  it 
seemed  as  if  they  proceeded  from  them.  The  sentinels  — 

20 


306  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

at  first  struck  dumb  with  terror  and  amazement  —  called 
out  to  one  another  to  know  what  it  should  mean,  but  they 
could  only  confirm  to  each  other  what  had  been  heard,  and 
together  ask  the  protection  of  the  gods.  But  what  strikes 
deeper  yet,  is  what  you  have  heard,  that  the  queen's  far- 
famed  Numidian,  just  as  we  came  in  sight  of  the  walls  of 
the  city,  stumbled,  and  where  he  stumbled,  fell  and  died. 
What  these  things  forebode,  if  not  disaster  and  ruin,  't  is 
hard  to  say.  I  need  no  one  to  read  them  to  me. " 

Saying  thus,  he  rose  and  began  to  divest  himself  of  the 
remainder  of  his  heavy  armour,  saying,  as  he  did  it,  "  It 
was  this  heavy  armour  that  lost  us  the  day  at  Antioch ; 
lighter,  and  we  could  have  escaped  the  meshes.  Now  let 
me  lie  and  sleep.  " 

Keturning,  hardly  had  I  arrived  at  the  house  of  Gracchus, 
when  it  was  announced  in  loud  shouts  by  the  slaves  of  the 
palace,  that  Gracchus  himself,  Fausta,  and  Calpurnius,  were 
approaching.  I  hastened  to  the  portico  overlooking  the 
court-yard,  and  was  there  just  in  season  to  assist  Fausta  to 
dismount.  It  was  a  joyful  moment,  I  need  scarce  assure 
you.  Fausta  returns  wholly  unhurt.  Gracchus  is  wounded 
upon  his  left,  and  Calpurnius  upon  his  right  arm,  but  will 
not  long  suffer  from  the  injury. 

It  was  an  unspeakable  joy  once  more  to  hear  the  cheerful 
voice  of  Gracchus  resounding  in  the  walls  of  his  own  dwell 
ing,  and  to  see  Fausta,  eased  of  her  unnatural  load  of  iron, 
again  moving  in  her  accustomed  sphere  in  that  graceful 
costume,  partly  Eoman  and  partly  Persian,  and  which  now 
hides  and  now  betrays  the  form,  so  as  to  reveal  its  beauty 
in  the  most  perfect  manner.  A  deep  sadness,  deeper  than 
ever,  sits  upon  her  countenance,  whenever  her  own  thoughts 
occupy  her.  But  surrounded  by  her  friends,  her  native 
spirit,  too  elastic  to  be  subdued,  breaks  forth,  and  she 
seems  her  former  self  again. 

Our  evening  meal  was  sad,  but  not  silent. 

Gracchus  instructed  me  by  giving  a  minute  narrative  of 
the  march  to  Antioch,  of  the  two  battles,  and  the  retreat. 
Calpurnius  related  with  equal  exactness  the  part  which  he 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CLOUD.  307 

took,  and  the  services  which  Fausta,  by  her  penetrating 
observation,  had  been  able  to  render  to  the  army.  They 
united  in  bestowing  the  highest  encomiums  upon  Zenobia, 
who  herself  planned  the  battle,  and  disposed  the  forces, 
and  with  such  consummate  judgment  that  Zabdas  himself 
found  nothing  to  disapprove  or  alter. 

"  The  day  was  clearly  ours, "  said  Fausta,  "  but  for  the 
artifice  of  Aurelian  —  allowable,  I  know,  by  all  the  rules  of 
war  —  by  which  we  were  led  on  blindfold  to  our  ruin.  But 
flushed  as  we  were  by  the  early  and  complete  success  of  the 
day,  is  it  to  be  severely  condemned  that  our  brave  men  fol 
lowed  up  their  advantages  with  too  much  confidence,  and 
broke  from  that  close  order  in  which  till  then  they  had 
fought,  and  by  doing  so,  lost  the  command  of  themselves 
and  their  own  strength  ?  Oh,  the  dulness  of  our  spirits,  that 
we  did  not  sooner  detect  the  rank  insincerity  of  that  sudden, 
unexpected  retreat  of  the  Koman  horse !  " 

"  The  gods  rather  be  praised, "  said  Gracchus,  "  that  your 
watchful  eye  detected  so  soon  what  was  too  well  concerted 
and  acted  to  be  perceived  at  all,  and  as  the  fruit  of  it  we  sit 
here  alive,  and  Zenobia  holds  her  throne,  and  so  many  of  our 
brave  soldiers  are  now  locked  in  sleep  beneath  their  quiet 
tents. " 

"  That,  I  think, "  said  Calpurnius,  "  is  rather  the  senti 
ment  that  should  possess  us.  You  will  hardly  believe, 
Lucius,  that  it  was  owing  to  the  military  genius  of  your 
ancient  playmate,  that  we  escaj^d  the  certain  destruction 
that  had  been  prepared  for  us.  " 

"  I  can  believe  anything  good  in  that  quarter  and  upon 
slighter  testimony.  I  have  already  heard  from  the  lips 
of  a  soldier  of  your  legion  that  which  you  have  now 
related.  Part  of  the  praise  was  by  him  bestowed  upon 
one  Piso,  a  Koman  turned  Palmyrene,  as  he  termed  him, 
who,  he  reported,  fought  at  the  side  of  the  daughter  of 
Gracchus.  * 

"  He  could  not  have  said  too  much  of  that  same  Piso, " 
said  Gracchus.  "  Palmyra  owes  him  a  large  debt  of  grati 
tude,  which  I  am  sure  she  will  not  be  slow  to  pay.  But  let 


308  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

us  think  rather  of  the  future  than  of  the  past,  which,  how 
ever,  we  have  conducted,  speaks  only  of  disaster. " 

I  thank  you  for  your  assurances  concerning  Laco  and 
Ca3lia.  Your  conscience  will  never  reproach  you  for  this 
lenity. 


BETRAYED.  309 


LETTER  XIV. 

BETRAYED. 

THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  PALMYRA.  —  THE  SIEGE.  —  THE  ENGINES 
FOR  DEFENCE.  —  THE  ROMANS  OFFER  TERMS.  —  AURELIAN'S 
LETTER.  —  THE  REPLY.  —  THE  SIEGE  PRESSED.  —  THE  PERSIAN 
SUCCOURS.  —  THE  SORTIE.  —  A  CONSPIRACY.  —  THE  QUEEN'S 
PLAN.  —  JULIA'S  OFFER.  —  THE  BETRAYAL. 

THE  last  days  of  this  so  lately  favoured  empire  draw 
near, —  at  least  such  is  my  judgment.  After  a  brief 
day  of  glory,  its  light  will  set  in  a  long  night  of  utter 
darkness  and  ruin. 

Close  upon  the  rear-guard  of  the  queen's  forces  followed 
the  light  troops  of  Aurelian,  and  early  this  morning  it  was 
proclaimed  that  the  armies  of  Rome  were  in  sight,  and  fast 
approaching  the  city.  These  armies  were  considered  too 
numerous  to  hazard  another  battle,  therefore  the  gates  were 
shut,  and  we  are  now  beleaguered  by  a  power  too  mighty  to 
contend  with,  and  which  the  Arabs,  the  climate,  and  want, 
must  be  trusted  to  subdue.  The  circumjacent  plains  are 
filled  with  the  legions  of  Rome.  Exhausted  by  the  march 
across  the  desert,  they  have  but  pitched  their  tents,  and 
now  repose. 

The  queen  displays  more  than  ever  her  accustomed  ac 
tivity  and  energy.  She  examines  in  person  every  part  of 
the  vast  extent  of  wall,  and  every  engine  planted  upon  them 
for  their  defence.  By  her  frequent  presence  in  every  part 
of  the  city,  she  inspires  her  soldiers  with  the  same  spirit 
which  possesses  herself;  and  for  herself,  to  behold  her 
careering  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  reviewing,  and 
often  addressing,  the  different  divisions  of  the  army,  and 
issuing  her  commands,  she  seems  rather  like  one  who  is 
now  Queen  of  the  East,  and  is  soon  to  be  of  the  world,  than 
one  whose  dominion  is  already  narrowed  down  to  the  com- 


310  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

pass  of  a  single  city,  and  may  shortly  be  deprived  even  of 
that.  The  lofty  dignity  of  her  air  has  assumed  a  more 
imposing  greatness  still.  The  imperial  magnificence  of  her 
state  is  noways  diminished,  but  rather  increased,  so  that, 
by  a  sort  of  delusion  of  the  senses,  she  seems  more  a  queen 
than  ever.  By  her  native  vigour  and  goodness,  and  by  the 
addition  of  a  most  consummate  art,  by  which  she  manages, 
as  she  will,  a  people  whom  she  perfectly  comprehends,  she 
is  at  this  moment  more  deeply  intrenched  within  the  affec 
tions  of  her  subjects,  and  more  completely  the  object  of 
their  idolatrous  homage,  than  ever  before.  Yet  in  her 
secret  soul  there  is  a  deep  depression,  and  a  loss  of  confi 
dence  in  her  cause,  which  amounts  not  yet  to  a  loss  of  hope, 
but  approaches  it.  This  is  seen  by  those  who  can  observe 
her  in  her  more  quiet  hours,  when  the  glare  of  public  ac 
tion  and  station  is  off,  and  her  mind  is  left  to  its  own  work 
ings.  But,  like  those  who  play  at  dice,  she  has  staked  all, 
—  her  kingdom,  her  crown,  her  life,  perhaps, —  upon  a  single 
throw,  and  having  wound  herself  up  to  the  desperate  act,  all 
the  entreaty  or  argument  of  the  whole  earth  could  not  move 
her  to  unclasp  the  hand  that  wields  the  fatal  box.  She  will 
abide  the  throw. 

There  are  still  those  who  use  both  entreaty  and  argu 
ment  to  persuade  her  even  at  this  late  hour  to  make  the  best 
terms  she  may  with  Kome.  Otho,  though  perfectly  loyal 
and  true,  ceases  not  to  press  upon  her,  both  in  public  and 
in  private,  those  considerations  which  may  have  any  weight 
with  her  to  induce  a  change  of  measures.  But  it  has  thus 
far  been  to  no  purpose.  Others  there  are,  who,  as  the  dan 
ger  increases,  become  more  and  more  restless,  and  scruple 
not  to  let  their  voice  be  heard  in  loud  complaint  and  dis 
content  ;  but  they  are  too  few  in  proportion  to  the  whole,  to 
make  them  objects  of  apprehension.  It  will,  however,  be 
strange  if,  as  the  siege  is  prolonged,  they  do  not  receive  such 
accessions  of  strength  as  to  render  them  dangerous. 

The  emperor  has  commenced  his  attacks  upon  the  city  in 
a  manner  that  shows  him  unacquainted  with  its  strength. 
The  battle  has  raged  fiercely  all  day,  with  great  loss, 


BETRAYED.  311 

we  infer,  to  the  Romans;  with  none,  we  know,  to  the 
Palmyrenes. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  it  was  evident 
that  a  general  assault  was  to  be  made  upon  the  walls.  The 
Eoman  army,  completely  surrounding  the  city,  at  the  same 
signal  approached,  and,  under  cover  of  their  shields,  at 
tempted  both  to  undermine  and  scale  them.  But  their 
attempts  were  met  with  such  vigour,  and  with  such  advan 
tage  of  action  by  the  besieged,  that  although  repeated  many 
times  during  the  day,  they  have  resulted  in  only  loss  and 
death  to  the  assailants.  It  is  incredible  the  variety  and 
ingenuity  of  the  contrivances  by  which  the  queen's  forces 
beat  off  and  rendered  ineffectual  all  the  successive  move 
ments  of  the  enemy,  in  their  attempts  to  surmount  the 
walls.  Not  only  from  every  part  of  the  wall  were  showers 
of  arrows  discharged  from  the  bows  of  experienced  archers, 
but  from  engines  also  by  which  they  were  driven  to  a  much 
greater  distance,  and  with  great  increase  of  force. 

This  soon  rendered  every  attack  of  this  nature  useless 
and  worse,  and  their  efforts  were  then  concentrated  upon 
the  several  gates,  which  simultaneously  were  attempted  to 
be  broken  in,  fired,  or  undermined.  But  here,  again,  as 
often  as  these  attempts  were  renewed,  were  they  defeated, 
and  great  destruction  made  of  those  engaged  in  them.  The 
troops  approached,  as  is  usual,  covered  completely,  or  buried 
rather,  beneath  their  shields.  They  were  suffered  to  form 
directly  under  the  walls,  and  actually  commence  their  work 
of  destruction,  when  suddenly  from  the  towers  of  the  gates 
and  through  channels  constructed  for  the  purpose  in  every 
part  of  the  masonry,  torrents  of  liquid  fire  were  poured  upon 
the  iron  roof  beneath  which  the  soldiers  worked.  This  at 
first  they  endured.  The  melted  substances  ran  off  from 
the  polished  surface  of  the  shields,  and  the  stones  which 
were  dashed  upon  them  from  engines,  after  rattling  and 
bounding  over  their  heads,  rolled  harmless  to  the  ground. 
But  there  was  in  reserve  a  foe  which  they  could  not  en 
counter.  When  it  was  found  that  the  fiery  streams  flowed 
down  the  slanting  sides  of  the  shell,  penetrating  scarcely 


812  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA, 

at  all  through  the  crevices  of  the  well- joined  shields,  it  was 
suggested  by  the  ingenious  Periander,  that  there  should  first 
be  thrown  down  a  quantity  of  pitch  in  a  half-melted  state, 
by  which  the  whole  surface  of  the  roof  should  be  completely 
covered,  and  which  should  then,  by  a  fresh  discharge  of  fire, 
be  set  in  a  blaze,  the  effect  of  which  must  be  to  heat  the 
shields  to  such  a  degree  that  they  could  neither  be  held, 
nor  the  heat  beneath  endured  by  the  miners.  This  was 
immediately  resorted  to  at  all  the  gates,  and  the  success 
was  complete.  For  no  sooner  was  the  cold  pitch  set  on  fire 
and  constantly  fed  by  fresh  quantities  from  above,  than  the 
heat  became  insupportable  to  those  below,  who  suddenly 
letting  go  their  hold,  and  breaking  away  from  their  com 
pacted  form,  in  hope  to  escape  from  the  stifling  heat,  the 
burning  substance  then  poured  in  upon  them,  and  vast 
numbers  perished  miserably  upon  the  spot,  or  ran  burning 
and  howling  with  pain  toward  the  camp.  The  slaughter 
made  was  very  great,  and  very  terrible  to  behold. 

Nevertheless,  the  next  day  the  same  attempts  were  re 
newed,  in  the  hope,  we  supposed,  that  the  queen's  missiles 
might  be  expended,  but  were  defeated  again  in  the  same 
manner  and  with  like  success. 

These  things  being  so,  and  Aurelian  being  apparently 
convinced  that  the  city  cannot  be  taken  by  storm,  the 
enemy  are  now  employed  in  surrounding  it  with  a  double 
ditch  and  rampart,  as  defences  both  against  us  and  our 
allies,  between  which  the  army  is  to  be  safely  encamped, — 
an  immense  labour,  to  which  I  believe  a  Roman  army  is 
alone  competent.  While  this  has  been  doing,  the  Palmy- 
renes  have  made  frequent  sallies  from  the  gates,  greatly 
interrupting  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  inflicting  severe 
losses.  These  attacks  have  usually  been  made  at  night, 
when  the  soldiers  have  been  wearied  by  the  exhausting  toil 
of  the  day,  and  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  whole  have 
been  in  a  condition  to  ward  off  the  blows. 

The  Roman  works  are  at  length  completed.  Every  lofty 
palm-tree,  every  cedar,  every  terebinth,  has  disappeared  from 
the  surrounding  plains,  to  be  converted  into  battering-rams, 


BETRAYED.  313 

or  wrought  into  immense  towers,  planted  upon  wheels,  by 
which  the  walls  are  to  be  approached  and  surmounted. 
Houses  and  palaces  have  been  demolished  that  the  ready- 
hewed  timber  might  be  detached  and  applied  to  various 
warlike  purposes.  The  once  beautiful  environs  already 
begin  to  put  on  the  appearance  of  desolation  and  ruin. 

The  citizens  have  awaited  these  preparations  with  watch 
ful  anxiety.  The  queen  has  expressed,  everywhere  and  to 
all,  her  conviction  that  all  these  vast  and  various  prepara 
tions  are  futile ;  that  the  bravery  of  her  soldiers,  and  the 
completeness  of  her  counter  provisions,  will  be  sufficient  for 
the  protection  and  deliverance  of  the  city. 

Another  day  of  fierce  and  bloody  war.  At  four  different 
points  have  the  vast  towers  been  pushed  to  the  walls,  filled 
with  soldiers,  and  defended  against  the  fires  of  the  besieged 
by  a  casing  of  skins  and  every  incombustible  substance,  and 
provided  with  a  store  of  water  to  quench  whatever  part 
might  by  chance  kindle.  It  was  fearful  to  behold  these  huge 
structures  urged  along  by  a  concealed  force,  partly  of  men 
and  partly  of  animals,  and  drawing  nigh  the  walls.  If  they 
should  once  approach  so  near  that  they  could  be  fastened  to 
the  walls,  and  so  made  secure,  then  could  the  enemy  pour 
their  legions  upon  the  ramparts,  and  the  battle  would  be 
transferred  to  the  city  itself.  But  in  this  case,  as  in  the 
assaults  upon  the  gates,  the  fire  of  the  besieged  has  proved 
irresistible. 

It  was  the  direction  of  Periander,  to  whose  unequalled 
sagacity  this  part  of  the  defence  was  intrusted,  that  so  soon 
as  the  towers  should  approach  within  reach  of  the  most  pow 
erful  engines,  they  should  be  fired,  if  possible,  by  means 
of  well-barbed  arrows  and  javelins,  to  which  were  attached 
sacs  and  balls  of  inflammable  and  explosive  substances. 
These  fastening  themselves  upon  every  part  of  the  tower, 
could  not  fail  to  set  fire  to  them  while  yet  at  some  distance, 
and  in  extinguishing  which  the  water  and  other  means  pro 
vided  for  that  purpose  would  be  nearly  or  quite  exhausted 
before  they  had  reached  the  walls.  Then  as  they  came 
within  easier  reach,  the  engines  were  to  belch  forth  those 


314  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

rivers  of  oil,  fire,  and  burning  pitch  which  he  was  sure  no 
structure,  unless  of  solid  iron,  could  withstand. 

These  directions  were  carefully  observed,  and  their  suc 
cess  at  every  point  such  as  Periander  had  predicted.  At  the 
gate  of  the  desert  the  most  formidable  preparations  were 
made,  under  the  directions  of  the  emperor  himself,  who,  at 
a  distance,  could  plainly  be  discerned  directing  the  work 
and  encouraging  the  soldiers.  Two  towers  of  enormous  size 
were  here  constructed,  and  driven  toward  the  walls.  Upon 
both,  as  they  came  within  the  play  of  the  engines,  were 
showered  the  fiery  javelins  and  arrows,  which  it  required 
all  the  activity  of  the  occupants  to  ward  off  or  extinguish, 
where  they  had  succeeded  in  fastening  themselves.  One  was 
soon  in  flames.  The  other,  owing  either  to  its  being  of  a 
better  construction,  or  to  a  less  vigorous  discharge  of  fire  on 
the  part  of  the  defenders  of  the  walls,  not  only  escaped  the 
more  distant  storm  of  blazing  missiles,  but  succeeded  in 
quenching  the  floods  of  burning  pitch  and  oil,  which,  as 
it  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  were  poured  upon  it  in  fiery 
streams.  On  it  moved,  propelled  by  its  invisible  and  pro 
tected  power,  and  had  now  reached  the  wall;  the  bridge 
was  in  the  very  act  of  being  thrown  and  grappled  to  the 
ramparts ;  Aurelian  was  seen  pressing  forward  the  legions, 
who,  as  soon  as  it  should  be  fastened,  were  to  pour  up  its 
flights  of  steps  and  out  upon  the  walls,  —  when,  to  the  horror 
of  all,  not  less  of  the  besiegers  than  of  the  besieged,  its 
foundations  upon  one  side  —  being  laid  over  the  moat  — 
suddenly  gave  way  and  the  towering  and  enormous  mass, 
with  all  its  living  burden,  fell  thundering  to  the  plain.  A 
shout,  as  of  a  delivered  and  conquering  army,  went  up  from 
the  walls ;  while  upon  the  legions  below  —  such  as  had  not 
been  crushed  by  the  tumbling  ruin  —  and  who  endeavoured 
to  save  themselves  by  flight,  a  sudden  storm  of  stones,  rocks, 
burning  pitch,  and  missiles  of  a  thousand  kinds,  was  directed, 
that  left  few  to  escape  to  tell  the  tale  of  death  to  their  com 
rades.  Aurelian,  in  his  fury,  or  his  desire  to  aid  the  fallen, 
approaching  too  near  the  walls,  was  himself  struck  by  a 
well-directed  shaft,  wounded,  and  borne  from  the  field. 


BETRAYED.  315 

At  the  other  gates,  where  similar  assaults  had  been  made, 
the  same  success  attended  the  Palmyrenes.  The  towers  were 
in  each  instance  set  on  fire  and  destroyed. 

The  city  has  greatly  exulted  at  the  issue  of  these  repeated 
contests.  Every  sound  and  sign  of  triumph  has  been  made 
upon  the  walls.  Banners  have  been  waved  to  and  fro,  trum 
pets  have  been  blown,  and  in  bold  defiance  of  their  power, 
parties  of  horse  have  sallied  out  from  the  gates,  and  after 
careering  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  have  returned  again  within 
the  walls.  The  enemy  are  evidently  dispirited,  and  already 
weary  of  the  work  they  have  undertaken. 

The  queen  and  her  ministers  are  confident  of  success,  so 
far  as  active  resistance  of  the  attacks  upon  the  walls  is 
concerned,  —  and  perhaps  with  reason.  For  not  even  the 
walls  of  Rome,  as  they  are  now  rebuilding,  can  be  of  greater 
strength  than  these ;  and  never  were  the  defences  of  a  be 
sieged  city  so  complete  at  all  points.  But  with  equal  reason 
are  they  despondent  in  the  prospect  of  Aurelian's  reducing 
them  by  want.  If  he  shall  succeed  in  procuring  supplies 
for  his  army,  and  if  he  shall  defeat  the  allies  of  the  queen, 
who  are  now  every  day  looked  for,  captivity  and  ruin  are 
sure.  But  the  queen  and  the  citizens  entertain  themselves 
with  the  hope  that  Aurelian's  fiery  temper  will  never 
endure  the  slow  and  almost  disgraceful  process  of  starving 
them  into  a  surrender,  and  that  finding  his  army  constantly 
diminishing  through  the  effect  of  such  extraordinary  exer 
tions  in  a  climate  like  this,  he  will  at  length  propose  such 
terms  as  they,  without  dishonour,  can  accept. 

Many  days  have  passed  in  inactivity  on  both  sides,  ex 
cept  that  nothing  can  exceed  the  strictness  with  which  all 
approaches  to  the  city  are  watched,  and  the  possibility  of 
supplies  reaching  it  cut  off. 

That  which  has  been  expected  has  come  to  pass.  The 
emperor  has  offered  terms  of  surrender  to  the  queen ;  but 
such  terms,  and  so  expressed,  that  their  acceptance  was  not 
so  much  as  debated.  The  queen  was  in  council  with  her 
advisers,  when  it  was  announced  that  a  herald  from  the 
Roman  camp  was  seen  approaching  the  wallt.  The  gates 


316  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

were  ordered  to  be  opened,  and  the  messenger  admitted. 
He  was  conducted  to  the  presence  of  the  queen,  surrounded 
by  her  ministers. 

"  I  come, "  said  he,  as  he  advanced  toward  Zenobia, 
"  bearing  a  letter  from  the  emperor  of  Home  to  the  queen 
of  Palmyra.  Here  it  is.  " 

"  I  receive  it  gladly, "  replied  the  queen,  "  and  hope  that 
it  may  open  a  way  to  an  honourable  composition  of  the  diffi 
culties  which  now  divide  us.  Nicomachus,  break  the  seals 
and  read  its  contents.  * 

The  secretary  took  the  epistle  from  the  hands  of  the 
herald,  and  opening,  read  that  which  follows :  — 

"  Aurelian,  Emperor  of  Rome  and  Conqueror  of  the 
East,  to  Zenobia  and  her  companions  in  arms : 

"  You  ought  of  your  own  accord  long  since  to  have  done 
what  now  by  this  letter  I  enjoin  and  command.  And  what 
I  now  enjoin  and  command  is  this,  an  immediate  surrender 
of  the  city,  — but  with  assurance  of  life  to  yourself  and  your 
friends,  —  you,  O  queen,  with  your  friends,  to  pass  your 
days  where  the  senate,  in  its  sovereign  will,  shall  please 
to  appoint.  The  rights  of  every  citizen  shall  be  respected, 
upon  condition  that  all  precious  stones,  silver,  gold,  silk, 
horses,  and  camels,  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
Eomans. " 

As  the  secretary  finished  these  words,  the  queen  broke 
forth,  — 

"  What  think  you,  good  friends, "  her  mounting  colour  and 
curled  lip  showing  the  storm  that  raged  within,  —  "  What 
think  you  ?  Is  it  a  man  or  a  god  who  has  written  thus  ? 
Can  it  be  a  mortal  who  speaks  in  such  terms  to  another  ? 
By  the  soul  of  Odenatus,  but  I  think  it  must  be  the  God  of 
War  himself.  Slave,  what  sayest  thou  ?  " 

"  I  am  but  the  chosen  bearer, "  the  herald  replied,  "  of 
what  I  took  from  the  hands  of  the  emperor.  But  between 
him  and  the  god  just  named,  there  is,  as  I  deem,  but  small 
difference. " 


BETRAYED.  317 

*  That 's  well  said,  *  replied  the  queen,  "  there  's  some 
thing  of  the  old  Eoman  in  thee.  Friends, "  she  continued, 
turning  to  her  counsellors,  "  what  answer  shall  we  send  to 
this  lordly  command  ?  What  is  your  advice  ?  "• 

"  Mine  is, "  said  Zabdas,  "  that  the  queen  set  her  foot 
upon  the  accursed  scrawl,  and  that  yonder  wretch  that  bore 
it  be  pitched  headlong  from  the  highest  tower  upon  the 
walls,  and  let  the  wind  from  his  rotting  carcass  bear  back 
our  only  answer. " 

"  Nay,  nay,  brave  Zabdas, "  said  the  queen,  the  fury  of 
her  general  having  the  effect  to  restore  her  own  self-posses 
sion,  "  thou  wouldst  not  counsel  so.  War  then  doubles  its 
woe  and  guilt,  when  cruelty  and  injustice  bear  sway. 
Otho,  what  sayest  thou  ?  " 

"  Answer  it  in  its  own  vein !  You  smile,  queen,  as  if 
incredulous.  But  I  repeat  —  in  its  own  vein!  I  confess 
an  inward  disappointment  and  an  inward  change.  I  hoped 
much  from  terms  which  a  wise  man  might  at  this  point 
propose,  and  soil  neither  his  own  nor  his  country's  honour. 
But  Aurelian,  I  now  see,  is  not  such  a  one.  He  is  but  the 
spoiled  child  of  fortune.  He  has  grown  too  quickly  great 
to  grow  well.  Wisdom  has  had  no  time  to  ripen.  " 

Others  concurring,  Zenobia  seized  a  pen,  and  wrote  that 
which  I  transcribe. 

"  Zenobia,  Queen  of  the  East,  to  Aurelian  Augustus : 

"  No  one  before  you  ever  thought  to  make  a  letter  serve 
instead  of  a  battle.  But  let  me  tell  you,  whatever  is  won 
in  war,  is  won  by  bravery,  not  by  letters.  You  ask  me  to 
surrender,  as  if  ignorant  that  Cleopatra  chose  rather  to 
die,  than,  surrendering,  to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  every 
honour.  Our  Persian  allies  will  not  fail  me.  I  look  for 
them  every  hour.  The  Saracens  are  with  me;  the  Arme 
nians  are  with  me.  The  Syrian  robbers  have  already  done 
you  no  little  damage.  What,  then,  can  you  expect,  when 
these  allied  armies  are  upon  you?  You  will  lay  aside,  I 
think,  a  little  of  that  presumption  with  which  you  now 
command  me  to  surrender,  as  if  you  were  already  conqueror 
of  the  whole  world.  " 


318  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

The  letter  being  written  and  approved  by  those  who 
were  present,  it  was  placed  by  Nicomachus  in  the  hands 
of  the  herald. 

No  one  can  marvel,  my  Curtius,  that  a  letter  in  the  terms 
of  Aurelian's  should  be  rejected,  nor  that  it  should  provoke 
such  an  answer  as  Zenobia's.  It  has  served  merely  to  ex 
asperate  passions  which  were  already  enough  excited.  It 
was  entirely  in  the  power  of  the  emperor  to  have  terminated 
the  contest  by  the  proposal  of  conditions  which  Palmyra 
would  have  gladly  accepted,  and  by  which  Rome  would 
have  been  more  profited  and  honoured  than  it  can  be  by 
the  reduction  and  ruin  of  a  city  and  kingdom  like  this. 
But  it  is  too  true  that  Aurelian  is  rather  a  soldier  than  an 
emperor.  A  victory  got  by  blood  is  sweeter  far  to  him,  I  fear, 
than  tenfold  wider  conquests  won  by  peaceful  negotiations. 

The  effect  of  the  taunting  and  scornful  answer  of  the 
queen  has  been  immediately  visible  in  the  increased  ac 
tivity  and  stir  in  the  camp  of  Aurelian.  Preparations  are 
going  on  for  renewed  assaults  upon  the  walls,  upon  a  much 
larger  scale  than  before. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the  letter  of  Aurelian 
was  received  and  answered,  I  resorted,  according  to  my  cus 
tom  during  the  siege,  to  a  part  of  the  walls  not  far  from  the 
house  of  Gracchus,  whence  an  extended  view  is  had  of  the 
Roman  works  and  camp.  Fausta,  as  often  before,  accom 
panied  me.  She  delights  thus,  at  the  close  of  these  weary, 
melancholy  days,  to  walk  forth,  breathe  the  reviving  air, 
observe  the  condition  of  the  city,  and  from  the  towers  upon 
the  walls  watch  the  movements  and  labours  of  the  enemy. 
The  night  was  without  moon  or  stars.  Low  and  heavy 
clouds  hung,  but  did  not  move,  over  our  heads.  The  air 
was  still,  nay,  rather  dead,  so  deep  was  its  repose. 

"  How  oppressive  is  this  gloom, "  said  Fausta,  as  we  came 
forth  upon  the  ramparts,  and  took  our  seat  where  the  eye 
could  wander  unobstructed  over  the  plain,  "  and  yet  how 
gaily  illuminated  is  this  darkness  by  yonder  belt  of  moving 
lights.  It  seems  like  the  gorgeous  preparation  for  a  fune 
ral  Above  us  and  behind,  it  is  silent,  dark,  and  sad.  These 


BETRAYED.  319 

show  like  the  torches  of  the  approaching  mourners.     The 
gods  grant  there  be  no  omen  in  this. " 

"  I  know  not, "  I  replied.  "  It  may  be  so.  To-day  has,  I 
confess,  destroyed  the  last  hope  in  my  mind  that  there 
might  come  a  happy  termination  to  this  unwise  and  un 
necessary  contest.  It  can  end  now  only  in  the  utter  defeat 
and  ruin  of  one  of  the  parties,  and  which  that  shall  be  I 
cannot  doubt.  Listen,  Fausta,  to  the  confused  murmur 
that  comes  from  the  camp  of  the  Roman  army,  bearing 
witness  to  its  numbers,  and  to  those  sounds  of  the  hammer, 
the  axe,  and  the  saw,  plied  by  ten  thousand  arms,  bearing 
witness  to  the  activity  and  exhaustless  resources  of  the 
enemy,  and  you  cannot  but  feel,  that  at  last  —  it  may  be 
long  first  —  but  that  at  last  Palmyra  must  give  way. 
From  what  has  been  observed  to-day,  there  is  not  a  doubt 
that  Aurelian  has  provided,  by  means  of  regular  caravans 
to  Antioch,  for  a  constant  supply  of  whatever  his  army 
requires.  Reinforcements,  too,  both  of  horse  and  foot,  are 
seen  daily  arriving  in  such  numbers  as  more  than  to  make 
good  those  who  have  been  lost  under  the  walls,  or  by  the 
excessive  heats  of  the  climate.  " 

"  I  hear  so, "  said  Fausta,  "  but  I  will  not  despair.  If  I 
have  one  absorbing  love,  it  is  for  Palmyra.  It  is  the  land 
of  my  birth,  of  my  affections.  I  cannot  tell  you  with 
what  pride  I  have  watched  its  growth,  and  its  daily  ad 
vancement  in  arts  and  letters,  and  have  dwelt  in  fancy  upon 
that  future  when  it  should  rival  Rome,  and  surpass  the 
traditionary  glories  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  Oh,  Lucius, 
to  see  now  a  black  pall  descending  —  these  swollen  clouds 
are  an  emblem  of  it  —  and  settling  upon  the  prospect,  and 
veiling  it  forever  in  death  —  I  cannot  believe  it.  It  cannot 
have  come  to  this.  It  is  treason  to  give  way  to  such  fears. 
Where  Zenobia  is,  final  ruin  cannot  come.  " 

"  It  ought  not  —  I  wish  it  could  not, "  I  replied ;  *  but 
my  fears  are  that  it  will,  and  my  fears  now  are  convictions. 
Where,  now,  my  dear  Fausta,  are  the  so  certainly  expected 
reliefs  from  Armenia,  from  Persia  ?  Fausta,  Palmyra  must 
fall.  * 


320  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

*  Lucius  Piso,  Palmyra  shall  not  fall ;  I  say  it,  and 
every  Palmyrene  says  it,  and  what  all  say,  is  decreed.  If 
we  are  true  in  our  loyalty  and  zeal,  the  Komans  will  be 
wearied  out.  Lucius,  could  I  but  reach  the  tent  of  Aure- 
lian,  my  single  arm  should  rid  Palmyra  of  her  foe,  and 
achieve  her  freedom. " 

"  No,  Fausta,  you  could  not  do  it.  " 

"  Indeed  I  would  and  could.  I  would  consent  to  draw 
infamy  upon  my  head  as  a  woman,  if,  by  putting  off  my  sex 
and  my  nature  too,  I  could  by  such  an  act  give  life  to  a 
dying  nation,  and,  what  is  as  much,  preserve  Zenobia  her 
throne. " 

"  Think  not  in  that  vein,  Fausta.  I  would  not  that  your 
mind  should  be  injured  even  by  the  thought.  " 

"  I  do  not  feel  it  to  be  an  injury,"  she  rejoined;  "it 
would  be  a  sacrifice  for  my  country,  and  the  dearer  in  that 
I  should  lose  my  good  name  in  making  it.  I  should  be 
sure  of  one  thing,  that  I  should  do  it  in  no  respect  for  my 
own  glory.  But  let  us  talk  no  more  of  it.  I  often  end, 
Lucius,  in  thinking  of  our  calamities,  and  of  a  fatal  termina 
tion  of  these  contests  to  us,  with  dwelling  upon  one  bright 
vision.  Misfortune  to  us  will  bring  you  nearer  to  Julia.  " 

"  The  gods  forbid  that  my  happiness  should  be  bought 
at  such  a  price.  " 

"  It  will  only  come  as  an  accidental  consequence,  and 
cannot  disturb  you.  If  Palmyra  falls,  the  pride  of  Zenobia 
will  no  longer  separate  you.  " 

"  But, "  I  replied,  "  the  prospect  is  not  at  all  so  bright. 
Captive  princes  are,  by  the  usages  of  Eome,  often  sacrificed ; 
and  Aurelian,  if  sometimes  generous,  is  often  cruel.  Fears 
would  possess  me  in  the  event  of  a  capitulation  or  conquest, 
which  I  cannot  endure  to  entertain. " 

"  Oh,  Lucius,  you  rate  Aurelian  too  low,  if  you  believe  he 
could  revenge  himself  upon  a  woman,  —  and  such  a  woman 
as  Zenobia.  I  cannot  believe  it  possible.  No.  If  Palmyra 
falls,  it  will  give  you  Julia,  and  it  will  be  some  consolation, 
even  in  the  fall  of  a  kingdom,  that  it  brings  happiness  to 
two  whom  friendship  binds  closer  to  me  than  any  others. " 


BETRAYED.  321 

As  Fausta  said  these  words,  we  became  conscious  of  the 
presence  of  a  person  at  no  great  distance  from  us,  leaning 
against  the  parapet  of  the  wall,  the  upper  part  of  the  form 
just  discernible. 

"  Who  stands  yonder  ? "  said  Fausta.  "  It  has  not  the 
appearance  of  a  sentinel ;  besides,  the  sentinel  paces  by  to 
and  fro  without  pausing.  It  may  be  Calpurnius.  His 
legion  is  in  this  quarter.  Let  us  move  toward  him.  " 

"  No.  He  moves  himself  and  comes  toward  us.  How 
dark  the  night !  I  can  make  nothing  of  the  form.  " 

The  figure  passed  us,  and  unchallenged  by  the  sentinel 
whom  it  met.  After  a  brief  absence  it  returned,  and  stop 
ping  as  it  came  before  us,  — 

"  Fausta, "  said  a  voice,  once  heard,  not  to  be  mistaken. 

"  Zenobia, "  said  Fausta,  and  forgetting  dignity,  embraced 
her  as  a  friend. 

"  What  makes  you  here  ?  "  inquired  Fausta ;  "  are  there 
none  in  Palmyra  to  do  your  bidding,  but  you  must  be  abroad 
at  such  an  hour  and  such  a  place  ?  " 

"  'T  is  not  so  fearful  quite, "  replied  the  queen,  *  as  a 
battle-field,  and  there  you  trust  me.  " 

*  Never,  willingly. " 

"  Then  you  do  not  love  my  honour  ? "  said  the  queen, 
taking  Fausta 's  hand  as  she  spoke. 

"  I  love  your  safety  better  —  no,  no,  what  have  I  said  ? 
—  not  better  than  your  honour  —  and  yet  to  what  end  is 
honour,  if  we  lose  the  life  in  which  it  resides  ?  I  some 
times  think  we  purchase  human  glory  too  dearly,  at  the 
sacrifice  of  quiet,  peace,  and  security.  " 

"  But  you  do  not  think  so  long.  What  is  a  life  of  indul 
gence  and  sloth  ?  Life  is  worthy  only  in  what  it  achieves. 
Should  I  have  done  better  to  have  sat  over  my  embroidery, 
in  the  midst  of  my  slaves  all  my  days,  than  to  have  spent 
them  in  building  up  a  kingdom  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  no ;  you  have  done  right !  Slaves  can  em 
broider.  Zenobia  cannot.  This  hand  was  made  for  other 
weapon  than  the  needle.  " 

"  I  am  weary, "  said  the  queen,  "  let  us  sit ; "  and  saying 

si 


322  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

so,  she  placed  herself  upon  the  low  stone  block  upon  which 
we  had  been  sitting,  and  drawing  Fausta  near  her,  she 
threw  her  left  arm  round  her,  retaining  the  hand  she  clasped 
in  her  own. 

"  I  am  weary, "  she  continued,  "  for  I  have  walked  nearly 
the  circuit  of  the  walls.  You  asked  what  makes  me  here  ? 
No  night  passes  but  I  visit  these  towers  and  battlements. 
If  the  governor  of  the  ship  sleeps,  the  men  at  the  watch 
sleep.  Besides,  I  love  Palmyra  too  well  to  sleep  while 
others  wait  and  watch.  I  would  do  my  share.  How  beau 
tiful  is  this !  The  city  girded  by  these  strange  fires ;  its 
ears  filled  with  this  busy  music.  Piso,  it  seems  hard  to 
believe  an  enemy,  and  such  an  enemy,  is  there,  and  that 
these  sights  and  sounds  are  all  of  death. " 

"  Would  it  were  not  so,  noble  queen.  Would  it  were  not 
yet  too  late  to  move  in  the  cause  of  peace.  If  ev.en  at  the 
risk  of  life  I—" 

"  Forbear,  Piso, "  quickly  rejoined  the  queen,  "  it  is  to  no 
purpose.  You  have  my  thanks,  but  your  emperor  has  closed 
the  door  of  peace  forever.  It  is  now  war  unto  death.  He 
may  prove  victor.  It  is  quite  possible.  But  I  draw  not 
back,  —  no  word  of  supplication  goes  from  me.  And  every 
citizen  of  Palmyra  —  save  a  few  sottish  souls  —  is  with  me. 
It  were  worth  my  throne  and  my  life,  the  bare  suggestion 
of  an  embassy  now  to  Aurelian.  But  let  us  not  speak  of 
this,  but  of  things  more  agreeable.  The  day  for  trouble, 
the  night  for  rest.  Fausta,  where  is  the  quarter  of  Cal- 
purnius  ?  Methinks  it  is  hereabouts.  " 

"  It  is, "  replied  Fausta,  "  just  beyond  the  towers  of  the 
gate  next  to  us ;  Were  it  not  for  this  thick  night,  we  could 
see  where  at  this  time  he  is  usually  to  be  found  doing,  like 
yourself,  an  unnecessary  task.  " 

'  He  is  a  good  soldier  and  a  faithful ;  may  he  prove  as 
true  to  you,  my  noble  girl,  as  he  has  to  me.  Albeit  I  am 
myself  a  sceptic  in  love,  I  cannot  but  be  made  happier  when 
I  see  hearts  worthy  of  each  other  united  by  that  bond.  I 
trust  that  bright  days  are  coming  when  I  may  do  you  the 
honour  I  would.  Piso,  I  am  largely  a  debtor  to  your  brother, 


BETRAYED.  323 

and  Palmyra  as  much.  Singular  fortune !  —  that  while  Home 
thus  oppresses  me,  to  Romans  I  should  owe  so  much,  —  to 
one,  twice  my  life ;  to  another,  my  army.  But  where, 
Lucius  Piso,  was  your  heart,  that  it  fell  not  into  the  snare 
that  caught  Calpurnius  ?  " 

"  My  heart,"  I  replied,  "  has  always  been  Fausta's,  from 
childhood—" 

"  Our  attachment, "  said  Fausta,  interrupting  me,  "  is  not 
less  than  love,  but  greater.  It  is  the  sacred  tie  of  nature, 
if  I  may  say  so,  of  brother  to  sister ;  it  is  friendship. " 

"  You  say  well, "  replied  the  queen.  "  I  like  the  senti 
ment.  It  is  not  less  than  love,  but  greater.  Love  is  a 
delirium,  a  dream,  a  disease.  It  is  full  of  disturbance.  It 
is  unequal,  capricious,  unjust;  its  felicity,  when  at  the 
highest,  is  then  nearest  to  deepest  misery,  — a  step,  and  it 
is  into  unfathomable  gulfs  of  woe.  While  the  object  loved 
is  as  yet  unattained,  life  is  darker  than  darkest  night ;  when 
it  is  attained,  it  is  then  oftener  like  the  ocean  heaving  and 
tossing  from  its  foundations,  than  the  calm,  peaceful  lake 
which  mirrors  friendship.  And  when  lost,  all  is  lost ;  the 
universe  is  nothing.  Who  will  deny  it  the  name  of  mad 
ness  ?  Will  love  find  entrance  into  Elysium  ?  Will  heaven 
know  more  than  friendship  ?  I  trust  not.  It  were  an  ele 
ment  of  discord  there,  where  harmony  should  reign  per 
petual.  "  After  a  pause,  in  which  she  seemed  buried  in 
thought,  she  added  musingly,  "  What  darkness  rests  upon 
the  future !  Life,  like  love,  is  itself  but  a  dream,  —  often  a 
brief  or  a  prolonged  madness.  Its  light  burns  sometimes 
brightly,  oftener  obscurely  and  with  a  flickering  ray,  and 
then  goes  out  in  smoke  and  darkness.  How  strange  that 
creatures  so  exquisitely  wrought  as  we  are,  capable  of  such 
thoughts  and  acts,  rising  by  science  and  art  and  letters 
almost  to  the  level  of  gods,  should  be  fixed  here  for  so  short 
a  time,  running  our  race  with  the  unintelligent  brute,  — 
living  not  so  long  as  some,  dying  like  all.  Could  I  have 
ever  looked  out  of  this  life  into  the  possession  of  any  other 
beyond  it,  I  believe  my  aims  would  have  been  different. 
I  should  not  so  easily  have  been  satisfied  with  glory  and 


324  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

power.  At  least  I  think  so ;  for  who  knows  himself  ?  I 
should  then,  I  think,  have  reached  after  higher  kinds  of 
excellence,  such,  for  example,  as,  existing  more  in  the  mind 
itself,  could  be  of  avail  after  death,  could  be  carried  out 
of  the  world,  which  power,  riches,  glory,  cannot.  The 
greatest  service  which  any  philosopher  could  perform  for 
the  human  race,  would  be  to  demonstrate  the  certainty  of 
a  future  existence,  in  the  same  satisfactory  manner  that 
Euclid  demonstrates  the  truths  of  geometry.  We  cannot 
help  believing  Euclid  if  we  would,  and  the  truths  he  has 
established  concerning  lines  and  angles  influence  us  whether 
we  will  or  not.  Whenever  the  immortality  of  the  soul  shall 
be  proved  in  like  manner,  so  that  men  cannot  help  believ 
ing  it,  so  that  they  shall  draw  it  in  with  the  first  elements 
of  all  knowledge,  then  will  mankind  become  a  quite  differ 
ent  race  of  beings.  Men  will  be  more  virtuous  and  more 
happy.  How  is  it  possible  to  be  either  in  a  very  exalted 
degree,  dwelling  as  we  do  in  the  deep  obscure,  uncertain 
whether  we  are  mere  earth  and  water,  or  parts  of  the  di 
vinity  ;  whether  we  are  worms  or  immortals ;  men  or  gods, 
—  spending  all  our  days  in,  at  best,  miserable  perplexity 
and  doubt  ?  Do  you  remember,  Fausta  and  Piso,  the  dis 
course  of  Longinus  in  the  garden,  concerning  the  probability 
of  a  future  life  ?  " 

"  We  do,  very  distinctly.  * 

"  And  how  did  it  impress  you  ?  " 

*  It  seemed  to  possess  much  likelihood, "  replied  Fausta, 
"  but  that  was  all.  " 

"  Yes, "  responded  the  queen,  sighing  deeply,  "  that  was 
indeed  all.  Philosophy,  in  this  part  of  it,  is  a  mere  guess. 
Even  Longinus  can  but  conjecture.  And  what  to  his  great 
and  piercing  intellect  stands  but  in  the  strength  of  proba 
bility,  to  ours  will,  of  necessity,  address  itself  in  the  very 
weakness  of  fiction.  As  it  is,  I  value  life  only  for  the 
brightest  and  best  it  can  give  now,  and  these  to  my  mind  are 
power  and  a  throne.  When  these  are  lost,  I  would  fall 
unregarded  into  darkness  and  death.  " 

u  But, "  I  ventured  to  suggest,  "  you  derive  great  pleasure 


BETRAYED.  325 

and  large  profit  from  study,  from  the  researches  of  phi 
losophy,  from  the  knowledge  of  history,  from  contem 
plation  of  the  beauties  of  art,  and  the  magnificence  o/ 
nature.  Are  not  these  things  that  give  worth  to  life  ?  If 
you  reasoned  aright,  and  probed  the  soul  well,  would  you 
not  find  that  from  these,  as  from  hidden  springs,  a  great 
deal  of  all  the  best  felicity  you  have  tasted  has  welled  up  ? 
Then,  still  more,  from  acts  of  good  and  just  government; 
from  promoting  the  happiness  of  your  subjects ;  from  private 
friendship ;  from  affections  resting  upon  objects  worthy  to 
be  loved,  —  has  no  happiness  come  worth  living  for  ?  And 
besides  all  this,  from  an  inward  consciousness  of  rectitude ! 
Most  of  all  this  may  still  be  yours,  though  you  no  longer 
sat  upon  a  throne,  and  men  held  their  lives  but  in  your 
breath.  * 

"  From  such  sources, "  replied  Zenobia,  "  some  streams 
have  issued,  it  may  be,  that  have  added  to  what  I  have 
enjoyed ;  but  of  themselves  they  would  have  been  nothing. 
The  lot  of  earth,  being  of  the  low  and  common  herd,  is  a  lot 
too  low  and  sordid  to  be  taken  if  proffered.  T  thank  the 
gods  mine  has  been  better.  It  has  been  a  throne,  glory, 
renown,  pomp,  and  power,  and  I  have  been  happy. 
Stripped  of  these,  and  without  the  prospect  of  immortality, 
I  would  not  live.  " 

With  these  words,  she  rose  quickly  from  her  seat,  saying 
that  she  had  a  further  duty  to  perform.  Fausta  entreated 
to  be  used  as  an  agent  or  messenger,  but  could  not  prevail. 
Zenobia,  darting  from  our  side,  was  in  a  moment  lost  in 
the  surrounding  darkness.  We  returned  to  the  house  of 
Gracchus. 

In  a  few  days,  the  vast  preparations  of  the  Eomans  being 
complete,  a  general  assault  was  made  by  the  whole  army 
upon  every  part  of  the  walls.  Every  engine  known  to  our 
modern  methods  of  attacking  walled  cities  was  brought  to 
bear.  Towers  constructed  in  the  former  manner  were 
wheeled  up  to  the  walls.  Battering-rams  of  enormous 
size,  those  who  worked  them  being  protected  by  sheds  of 
hide,  thundered  on  all  sides  at  the  gates  and  walls.  Lan- 


326  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

guage  fails  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  energy,  the  fury,  the 
madness  of  the  onset.  The  Roman  army  seemed  as  if  but 
one  being,  with  such  equal  courage  and  contempt  of  dan 
ger  and  of  death  was  the  dreadful  work  performed.  But 
the  queen's  defences  have  again  proved  superior  to  all  the 
power  of  Aurelian.  Her  engines  have  dealt  death  and  ruin 
in  awful  measure  among  the  assailants.  The  moat  and  the 
surrounding  plain  are  filled  and  covered  with  the  bodies  of 
the  slain.  As  night  came  on,  after  a  long  day  of  uninter 
rupted  conflict,  the  troops  of  Aurelian,  baffled  and  defeated 
at  every  point,  withdrew  to  their  tents,  and  left  the  city  to 
repose. 

The  temples  of  the  gods  have  resounded  with  songs  of 
thanksgiving  for  this  new  deliverance,  garlands  have  been 
hung  around  their  images,  and  gifts  laid  upon  their  altars. 
Jews  and  Christians,  Persians  and  Egyptians,  after  the  man 
ner  of  their  worship,  have  added  their  voices  to  the  general 
chorus. 

Again  there  has  been  a  pause.  The  Romans  have  rested 
after  the  late  fierce  assault  to  recover  strength,  and  the  city 
has  breathed  freely.  Many  are  filled  with  new  courage  and 
hope,  and  the  discontented  spirits  are  silenced.  The  praises 
of  Zenobia,  next  to  those  of  the  gods,  fill  every  mouth.  The 
streets  ring  with  songs  composed  in  her  honour. 

Another  day  of  excited  expectations  and  bitter  disap 
pointment.  It  was  early  reported  that  forces  were  seen 
approaching  from  the  east,  on  the  very  skirts  of  the  plain, 
and  that  they  could  be  no  other  than  the  long  looked  for 
Persian  army.  Before  its  approach  was  indicated  to  those 
upon  the  highest  towers  of  the  gates,  by  the  clouds  of  dust 
hovering  over  it,  it  was  evident,  from  the  extraordinary 
commotion  in  the  Roman  intrenchments,  that  somewhat 
unusual  had  taken  place.  Their  scouts  must  have  brought 
in  early  intelligence  of  the  advancing  foe.  Soon  as  the  news 
spread  through  the  city,  the  most  extravagant  demonstra 
tions  of  joy  broke  forth  on  all  sides.  Even  the  most  mod 
erate  and  sedate  could  not  but  give  way  to  expressions  of 
heartfelt  satisfaction.  The  multitudes  poured  to  the  walls 


BETRAYED.  327 

to  witness  a  combat  upon  which  the  existence  of  the  city 
seemed  suspended. 

"  Father, "  said  Fausta,  after  Gracchus  had  communicated 
the  happy  tidings,  "  I  cannot  sit  here ;  let  us  hasten  to  the 
towers  of  the  Persian  gate,  whence  we  may  behold  the 
encounter.  " 

"  I  will  not  oppose  you, "  replied  Gracchus,  "  but  the  sight 
may  cost  you  nought  but  tears  and  pain.  Persia's  good 
will,  I  fear,  will  not  be  much,  nor  manifested  by  large 
contributions  to  our  cause.  If  it  be  what  I  suspect  —  but 
a  paltry  subdivision  of  her  army,  sent  here  rather  to  be  cut 
in  pieces  than  aught  else  —  it  will  but  needlessly  afflict  and 
irritate. " 

"  Father,  I  would  turn  away  from  no  evil  that  threatens 
Palmyra.  Besides,  I  should  suffer  more  from  imagined 
than  from  real  disaster.  Let  us  hasten  to  the  walls. " 

We  flew  to  the  Persian  gate. 

"  But  why, "  asked  Fausta,  addressing  Gracchus  on  the 
way,  "  are  you  not  more  elated  ?  What  suspicion  do  you 
entertain  of  Sapor  ?  Will  he  not  be  sincerely  desirous  to 
aid  us  ?  " 

"  I  fear  not, "  replied  Gracchus.  "  If  we  are  to  be  the 
conquering  party  in  this  war,  he  will  send  such  an  army  as 
would  afterwards  make  it  plain  that  he  had  intended  an  act 
of  friendship  and  done  the  duty  of  an  ally.  If  we  are  to  be 
beaten,  he  will  lose  little  in  losing  such  an  army,  and  will 
easily,  by  placing  the  matter  in  certain  lights,  convince  the 
Eomans  that  their  interests  had  been  consulted  rather  than 
ours.  We  can  expect  no  act  of  true  friendship  from  Sapor. 
Yet  he  dares  not  abandon  us.  Were  Hormisdas  upon  the 
throne,  our  prospects  were  brighter.  " 

"  I  pray  the  gods  that  ancient  wretch  may  quickly  perish, 
then, "  cried  Fausta,  "  if  such  might  be  the  consequences  to 
us.  Why  is  he  suffered  longer  to  darken  Persia  and  the 
earth  with  his  cruel  despotism  ?  " 

"  His  throne  shakes  beneath  him, "  replied  Gracchus,  "  a 
breath  may  throw  it  down.  " 

As  we  issued  forth  upon  the  walls,  and  then  mounted  to 


328  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYKA. 

the  battlements  of  the  highest  tower,  whence  the  eye  took 
in  the  environs  of  the  city,  and  even  the  farthest  verge  of 
the  plain,  and  overlooked,  like  one's  own  court-yard,  the 
camp  and  intrenchments  of  the  Romans,  —  we  beheld  with 
distinctness  the  Persian  forces  within  less  than  two  Roman 
miles.  They  had  halted  and  formed,  and  there  apparently 
awaited  the  enemy. 

No  sooner  had  Gracchus  surveyed  well  the  scene,  than  he 
exclaimed,  "  The  gods  be  praised.  I  have  done  Sapor  in 
justice.  Yonder  forces  are  such  as  may  well  call  forth  all 
the  strength  of  the  Roman  army.  In  that  case  there  will 
be  much  for  us  to  do.  I  must  descend  and  to  the  post  of 
duty. " 

So  saying,  he  left  us. 

"  I  suppose, "  said  Fausta,  "  in  case  the  enemy  be  such  as 
to  draw  off  the  larger  part  of  the  Roman  army,  sorties  will 
be  made  from  the  gates  upon  their  camp.  " 

a  Yes, "  I  rejoined,  "  if  the  Romans  should  suffer  them 
selves  to  be  drawn  to  a  distance,  and  their  forces  divided, 
a  great  chance  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  city.  But 
that  they  will  not  do.  You  perceive  the  Romans  move  not, 
but  keep  their  station  just  where  they  are.  They  will 
oblige  the  Persians  to  commence  the  assault  upon  them  in 
their  present  position,  or  there  will  be  no  battle. " 

"  I  perceive  their  policy  now, "  said  Fausta.  "  And  the 
battle  being  fought  so  near  the  walls,  they  are  still  as 
strongly  beleaguered  as  ever,  —  at  least  half  their  strength 
seems  to  remain  within  their  intrenchments.  See,  see !  — 
the  Persian  army  is  on  the  march.  It  moves  toward  the 
city.  Now  again  it  halts.  " 

"  It  hopes  to  entice  Aurelian  from  his  position,  so  as  to 
put  power  into  our  hands.  But  they  will  fail  in  their 
object  * 

"  Yes,  I  fear  they  will, "  replied  Fausta.  "  The  Romans 
remain  fixed  as  statues  in  their  place. " 

"Is  it  not  plain  to  you,  Fausta  ?  "  said  I,  "  that  the  Per 
sians  conceive  not  the  full  strength  of  the  Roman  army? 
Your  eye  can  now  measure  their  respective  power. " 


BETRAYED.  329 

"  It  is  toe  plain,  alas !  "  said  Fausta.  "  If  the  Persians 
should  defeat  the  army  now  formed,  there  is  another  within 
the  trenches  to  be  defeated  afterwards.  Now  they  move 
again.  Righteous  gods,  interpose  in  our  behalf !  " 

At  this  moment,  indeed,  the  whole  Persian  army  put 
itself  into  quick  and  decisive  motion,  as  if  determined  to 
dare  all,  and  achieve  all  for  their  ally,  if  fate  should  so 
decree.  It  was  a  sight  beautiful  to  behold,  but  of  an  in 
terest  too  painful  almost  to  be  endured.  The  very  existence 
of  a  city  and  an  empire  seemed  to  hang  upon  its  issues ;  and 
here,  looking  on  and  awaiting  the  decisive  moment,  was,  as 
it  were,  the  empire  itself  assembled  upon  the  walls  of  its 
capital,  with  which,  if  it  should  fall,  the  kingdom  would 
also  fall,  and  the  same  ruin  cover  both.  The  queen  herself 
was  there  to  animate  and  encourage,  by  her  presence,  not 
only  the  hearts  of  all  around,  but  even  the  distant  forces  of 
the  Persians,  who,  from  their  position,  might  easily  behold 
the  whole  extent  of  the  walls  and  towers  covered  with  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  the  besieged  inhabitants,  who,  by 
waving  their  hands,  and  by  every  conceivable  demonstra 
tion  gave  them  to  feel  more  deeply  than  they  could  other 
wise  have  done,  how  much  was  depending  upon  their  skill 
and  bravery. 

Soon  after  the  last,  movement  of  the  Persians,  the  light 
troops  of  either  army  encountered,  and  by  a  discharge  of 
arrows  and  javelins,  commenced  the  attack.  Then,  in  a  few 
moments,  it  being  apparently  impossible  to  restrain  the  im 
patient  soldiery,  the  battle  became  general.  The  cry  of  the 
onset  and  the  clash  of  arms  fell  distinctly  upon  our  ears. 
Long,  long  were  the  opposing  armies  mingled  together  in 
one  undistinguishable  mass,  waging  an  equal  fight.  Now 
it  would  sway  toward  the  one  side,  and  now  toward  the 
other,  heaving  and  bending  as  a  field  of  ripe  grain  to  the 
fitful  breeze.  Fausta  sat  with  clenched  hands  and  straining 
eye,  watching  the  doubtful  fight,  and  waiting  the  issue  in 
speechless  agony.  A  deep  silence,  as  of  night  and  death, 
held  the  whole  swarming  multitude  of  the  citizens,  who 
hardly  seemed  as  if  they  dared  breathe  while  what  seemed 
the  final  scene  was  in  the  act  of  being  performed. 


330  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Suddenly  a  new  scene,  and  more  terrific  because  nearer, 
burst  upon  our  sight.  At  a  signal  given  by  Zenobia  from 
the  high  tower  which  she  occupied,  the  gates  below  us  flew 
open,  and  Zabdas,  at  the  head  of  all  the  flower  of  the  Pal- 
.  myra  cavalry,  poured  forth,  followed  closely  from  this  and 
the  other  gates  by  the  infantry.  The  battle  now  raged  be 
tween  the  walls  and  the  Eoman  intrenchments  as  well  as 
beyond.  The  whole  plain  was  one  field  of  battle  and  slaugh 
ter.  Despair  lent  vigour  and  swiftness  to  the  horse  and  foot 
of  Palmyra;  rage  at  the  long-continued  contest,  revenge 
for  all  they  had  lost  and  endured,  nerved  the  Eoman  army, 
and  gave  a  double  edge  to  its  sword.  Never  before,  my 
Curtius,  had  I  beheld  a  fight  in  which  every  blow  seemed 
so  to  carry  with  it  the  whole  soul,  boiling  with  wrath,  of 
him  who  gave  it.  Death  sat  upon  every  arm. 

"  Lucius  !  "  cried  Fausta.  I  started,  for  it  had  been  long 
that  she  had  uttered  not  a  word. 

"  Lucius !  unless  my  eye  grows  dim  and  lies,  which  the 
gods  grant,  the  Persians !  look !  they  give  way  —  is  it  not 
so  ?  Immortal  gods,  forsake  not  my  country  !  * 

"  The  battle  may  yet  turn, "  I  said,  turning  my  eyes  where 
she  pointed,  and  seeing  it  was  so  — "  despair  not,  dear 
Fausta.  If  the  Persians  yield  —  see.  Zabdas  has  mounted 
the  Roman  intrenchments.  * 

"  Yes ;  they  fly, "  screamed  Fausta,  and  would  madly  have 
sprung  over  the  battlements,  but  that  I  seized  and  held  her. 
At  the  same  moment  a  cry  arose  that  Zabdas  was  slain ; 
her  eye  caught  his  noble  form  as  it  fell  backwards  from  his 
horse,  and  with  a  faint  exclamation,  "  Palmyra  is  lost !  "  she 
fell  lifeless  into  my  arms. 

While  I  devoted  myself  to  her  recovery,  cries  of  distress 
and  despair  fell  from  all  quarters  upon  my  ear.  And  when 
I  had  succeeded  in  restoring  her  to  consciousness,  the  fate 
of  the  day  was  decided :  the  Persians  were  routed ;  the 
Palmyrenes  were  hurrying  in  wild  confusion  before  the 
pursuing  Romans,  and  pressing  into  the  gates. 

"  Lucius, "  said  Fausta,  "  I  am  sorry  for  this  weakness. 
But  to  sit,  as  it  were,  chained  here,  the  witness  of  such 


BETRAYED.  331 

disaster,  is  too  much  for  mere  mortal  force.  Could  I  but 
have  mingled  in  that  fight !  Ah,  how  cruel  the  slaughter 
of  those  flying  troops !  Why  do  they  not  turn,  and  at  least 
die  with  their  faces  toward  the  enemy  ?  Let  us  now  go  and 
seek  Calpurnius  and  Gracchus.  " 

"  We  cannot  yet,  Fausta,  for  the  streets  are  thronged  with 
this  flying  multitude. " 

"  It  is  hard  to  remain  here,  the  ears  rent  and  the  heart 
torn  by  these  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and  dying.  How 
horrible  this  tumult!  It  seems  as  if  the  world  were  ex 
piring.  There !  —  the  gates  are  swinging  upon  their  hinges. 
They  are  shut.  Let  us  descend.  " 

We  forced  our  way  as  well  as  we  could  through  the 
streets,  crowded  now  with  soldiers  and  citizens,  —  the  sol 
diers  scattered  and  in  disorder,  the  citizens  weeping  and 
alarmed,  —  some  hardly  able  to  drag  themselves  along, 
others  sinking  beneath  the  weight  of  the  wounded  whom 
they  bore  upon  their  shoulders,  or  upon  lances  as  upon  a 
litter.  The  way  was  all  along  obstructed  by  the  bodies  of 
men  and  horses  who  had  there  fallen  and  died,  their  wounds 
allowing  them  to  proceed  no  farther,  or  who  had  been  run 
down  and  trampled  to  death  in  the  tumult  and  hurry  of  the 
entrance. 

After  a  long  and  weary  struggle,  we  reached  the  house 
of  Gracchus,  still  solitary,  —  for  neither  he  nor  Calpurnius 
had  returned.  The  slaves  gathered  around  us  to  know  the 
certainty  and  extent  of  the  evil.  When  they  had  learned 
it,  their  sorrow  for  their  mistress,  whom  they  loved  for  her 
own  sake,  and  whom  they  saw  overwhelmed  with  grief, 
made  them  almost  forget  that  they  only  were  suffering  these 
things  who  had  inflicted  a  worse  injury  upon  themselves. 
I  could  not  but  admire  a  virtue  which  seemed  of  double 
lustre  from  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  manifested. 

Calpurnius  had  been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  but  had 
escaped  unhurt.  He  was  near  Zabdas  when  he  fell,  and 
revenged  his  death  by  hewing  down  the  soldier  who  had 
pierced  him  with  his  lance. 

"  Zabdas, "   said   Calpurnius,   when   in  the   evening   we 


832  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

recalled  the  sad  events  of  the  day,  "  was  not  instantly  killed 
by  the  thrust  of  the  spear,  but,  falling  backwards  from  his 
horse,  found  strength  and  life  enough  remaining  to  raise 
himself  upon  his  knees,  and  cheer  me  on,  as  I  flew  to 
revenge  his  death  upon  the  retreating  Roman.  As  I  re 
turned  to  him,  having  completed  my  task,  he  had  sunk 
upon  the  ground,  but  was  still  living,  and  his  eye  bright 
with  its  wonted  fire.  I  raised  him  in  my  arms,  and  lifting 
him  upon  my  horse,  moved  toward  the  gate,  intending  to 
bring  him  within  the  walls.  But  he  presently  entreated 
me  to  desist. 

"  '  I  die, '  said  he ;  'it  is  all  in  vain,  noble  Piso.  Lay  me 
at  the  root  of  this  tree,  and  that  shall  be  my  bed,  and  its 
shaft  my  monument. ' 

"  I  took  him  from  the  horse  as  he  desired. 

"  '  Place  me, '  said  he,  '  with  my  back  against  the  tree, 
and  my  face  toward  the  intrenchments,  that  while  I  live  I 
may  see  the  battle.  Piso,  tell  the  queen  that  to  the  last 
hour  I  am  true  to  her.  It  has  been  my  glory  in  life  to  live 
but  for  her,  and  my  death  is  a  happiness,  dying  for  her. 
Her  image  swims  before  me  now,  and  over  her  hovers  a 
winged  victory.  The  Komans  fly,  —  I  knew  it  would  be  so, 
—  the  dogs  cannot  stand  before  the  cavalry  of  Palmyra; 
they  fled  at  Antioch.  Hark!  there  are  the  shouts  of  tri 
umph  —  bring  me  my  horse  —  Zenobia !  live  and  reign  for 
ever  ! ' 

"  With  these  words  his  head  fell  upon  his  bosom,  and  he 
died.  I  returned  to  the  conflict ;  but  it  had  become  a  rout, 
and  I  was  borne  along  with  the  rushing  throng  toward  the 
gates. " 

After  a  night  of  repose  and  quiet,  there  has  come  another 
day  of  adversity.  The  hopes  of  the  city  have  again  been 
raised,  only  again  to  be  disappointed.  The  joyful  cry  was 
heard  from  the  walls  in  the  morning  that  the  Saracens  and 
Armenians,  with  united  forces,  were  in  the  field.  Coming 
so  soon  upon  the  fatiguing  duty  of  the  last  day,  and  the 
Roman  army  not  having  received  reinforcements  from  the 
West,  it  was  believed  that  the  enemy  could  not  sustain 


BETRAYED.  333 

another  onset  as  fierce  as  that  of  the  Persians.  I  hastened 
once  more  to  the  walls  —  Fausta  being  compelled  by  Grac 
chus  to  remain  within  the  palace  —  to  witness,  as  I  be 
lieved,  another  battle. 

The  report  I  found  true.  The  allied  forces  of  those 
nations  were  in  sight;  the  Eomans  were  already  drawn 
from  their  encampment  to  encounter  them.  The  same 
policy  was  pursued  on  their  part  as  before.  They  awaited 
the  approach  of  the  new  enemy  just  on  the  outer  side  of 
their  works.  The  walls  and  towers,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  were  again  swarming  with  the  population  of  Palmyra. 

For  a  long  time  neither  army  seemed  disposed  to  move. 

"  They  seem  not  very  ready  to  try  the  fortune  of  another 
day, "  said  a  citizen  to  me,  standing  by  my  side.  "  Nor  do 
I  wonder.  The  Persians  gave  them  rough  handling.  A  few 
thousands  more  on  their  side,  and  the  event  would  not  have 
been  as  it  was.  Think  you  not  the  sally  under  Zabdas  was 
too  long  deferred  ?  " 

"  It  is  easy  afterwards, "  I  replied,  "  to  say  how  an  action 
should  have  been  performed.  It  requires  the  knowledge 
and  wisdom  of  a  god  never  to  err.  There  were  different 
judgments,  I  know;  but  for  myself,  I  believe,  the  queen 
was  right.  That  is,  whether  Zabdas  had  left  the  gates 
earlier  or  later,  the  event  would  have  been  the  same. " 

"  What  means  that  ?  "  suddenly  exclaimed  my  companion ; 
"  see  you  yonder  herald  bearing  a  flag  of  truce,  and  proceed 
ing  from  the  Koman  ranks  ?  It  bodes  no  good  to  Palmyra. 
What  think  you  the  purpose  is  ?  " 

"  It  may  be  but  to  ask  a  forbearance  of  arms  for  a  few 
hours  or  a  day  perhaps.  Yet  it  is  not  the  custom  of  Home. 
I  cannot  guess. " 

"  That  can  I, "  exclaimed  another  citizen  on  my  other 
side.  "  Neither  in  the  Armenians,  nor  yet  the  Saracens, 
can  so  much  trust  be  reposed  as  in  a  Christian  or  a  Jew. 
They  are  for  the  strongest  Think  you  they  have  come  to 
fight?  Not  if  they  can  treat  to  better  purpose.  The  Eo 
mans,  who  know  by  heart  the  people  of  the  whole  earth, 
know  them.  Mark  me,  they  will  draw  never  a  sword.  As 


334  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  chances  are  now,  they  will  judge  the  Eomans  winners, 
and  a  little  gold  will  buy  them.  " 

"  The  gods  forbid, "  cried  the  other,  "  that  it  should  be  so ; 
they  are  the  last  hope  of  Palmyra.  If  they  fail  us,  we  must 
e'en  throw  open  our  gates,  and  take  our  fate  at  the  mercy 
of  Aurelian. " 

"  Never,  while  I  have  an  arm  that  can  wield  a  sword 
shall  a  gate  of  Palmyra  swing  upon  its  hinge  to  let  in  an 
enemy. " 

"  Food  already  grows  short,  *  said  the  first ;  "  better  yield 
than  starve. " 

"  Thou,  friend,  art  in  no  danger  for  many  a  day,  if,  as  is 
fabled  of  certain  animals,  thou  canst  live  on  thine  own  fat. 
Or,  if  it  came  to  extremities,  thou  wouldst  make  a  capital 
stew  or  roast  for  others.  " 

At  which  the  surrounding  crowd  laughed  heartily,  while 
the  fat  man,  turning  pale,  slunk  away  and  disappeared. 

"  That  man, "  said  one,  "  would  betray  a  city  for  a  full 
meal. " 

"  I  know  him  well, "  said  another ;  "  he  is  the  earliest 
at  the  markets,  where  you  may  always  see  him  feeling  out 
with  his  fat  finger  the  parts  of  meats  that  are  kindred  to 
himself.  His  soul,  could  it  be  seen,  would  be  of  the  form 
of  a  fat  kidney.  His  riches  he  values  only  as  they  can  be 
changed  into  food.  Were  all  Palmyra  starved,  he,  were  he 
sought,  would  be  found  in  some  deep-down  vault,  bedded  in 
the  choicest  meats, — enough  to  stand  a  year's  siege,  and 
leave  his  paunch  as  far  about  as  't  is  to-day.  See,  the  queen 
betrays  anxiety.  The  gods  shield  her  from  harm !  " 

Zenobia  occupied  the  same  post  of  observation  as  before. 
She  paced  to  and  fro,  with  a  hasty  and  troubled  step,  the 
narrow  summit  of  the  tower  where  she  had  placed  herself. 

After  no  long  interval  of  time,  the  Koman  herald  was 
seen  returning  from  the  camp  of  the  Armenians.  Again  he 
sallied  forth  from  the  tent  of  Aurelian  on  the  same  errand. 
It  was  too  clear  now  that  negotiations  were  going  on  which 
might  end  fatally  for  Palmyra.  Doubt,  fear,  anxiety,  in 
tense  expectation,  kept  the  multitude  around  me  in  breath- 


BETRAYED.  335 

less  silence,  standing  at  fixed  gaze,  like  so  many  figures  of 
stone. 

They  stood  not  long  in  this  deep  and  agonizing  suspense, 
for  no  sooner  did  the  Eoman  herald  reach  the  tents  of  the 
allied  armies,  and  hold  brief  parley  with  their  chiefs,  than 
he  again  turned  toward  the  Roman  intrenchments  at  a  quick 
pace,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  tents  of  the  other  party 
were  struck,  and  while  a  part  commenced  a  retreat,  another 
and  larger  part  moved  as  auxiliaries  to  join  the  camp  of 
Aurelian. 

Cries  of  indignation,  rage,  grief,  and  despair,  then  burst 
from  the  miserable  crowds,  as  with  slow  and  melancholy 
steps  they  turned  from  the  walls  to  seek  again  their  homes. 
Zenobia  was  seen  once  to  clasp  her  hands,  turning  her  face 
toward  the  heavens.  As  she  emerged  from  the  tower  and 
ascended  her  chariot,  the  enthusiastic  throngs  failed  not  to 
testify  their  unshaken  confidence  and  determined  spirit  of 
devotion  to  her  and  her  throne,  by  acclamations  that  seemed 
to  shake  the  very  walls  themselves. 

This  last  has  proved  a  heavier  blow  to  Palmyra  than  the 
former.  It  shows  that  their  cause  is  regarded  by  the  neigh 
bouring  powers  as  a  losing  one,  or  already  lost,  and  that  hope, 
so  far  as  it  rested  upon  their  friendly  interposition,  must  be 
abandoned.  The  city  is  silent  and  sad.  Almost  all  the 
forms  of  industry  having  ceased,  the  inhabitants  are  doubly 
wretched  through  their  necessary  idleness ;  they  can  do  little 
but  sit  and  brood  over  their  present  deprivations,  and  utter 
their  dark  bodings  touching  the  future.  All  sounds  of  gaiety 
have  ceased.  They  who  obtained  their  subsistence  by  minis 
tering  to  the  pleasures  of  others,  are  now  the  first  to  suffer ; 
for  there  are  none  to  employ  their  services.  Streets, 
which  but  a  little  while  ago  resounded  with  notes  of  music 
and  the  loud  laughter  of  those  who1  lived  to  pleasure,  are 
now  dull  and  deserted.  The  brilliant  shops  are  closed,  the 
fountains  forsaken,  the  Portico  solitary ;  or  they  are  fre 
quented  by  a  few  who  resort  to  them  chiefly  to  while  away 
some  of  the  melancholy  hours  that  hang  upon  their  hands. 
And  those  who  are  abroad  seem  not  like  the  same  people. 


336  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Their  step  is  now  measured  and  slow,  the  head  bent,  no 
salutation  greets  the  passing  stranger  or  acquaintance,  or 
only  a  few  cold  words  of  inquiry  which  pass  from  cold  lips 
into  ears  as  cold.  Apathy,  lethargy,  stupor,  seem  fast 
settling  over  all. 

They  would  indeed  bury  all,  I  believe,  were  it  not  that 
the  parties  of  the  discontented  increase  in  number  and 
power,  which  compels  the  friends  of  the  queen  to  keep  upon 
the  alert.  The  question  of  surrender  is  now  openly  dis 
cussed.  "  It  is  useless, "  it  is  said,  "  to  hold  out  longer. 
Better  make  the  best  terms  we  can.  If  we  save  the  city  by 
an  early  capitulation  from  destruction,  coming  off  with  our 
lives  and  a  portion  of  our  goods,  it  is  more  than  we  shall  get 
if  the  act  be  much  longer  postponed.  Every  day  of  delay 
adds  to  our  weakness ;  while  it  adds  also  to  the  vexation  and 
rage  of  the  enemy,  who,  the  more  and  longer  he  suffers,  will 
be  less  inclined  to  treat  us  with  indulgence. " 

These  may  be  said  to  have  reason  on  their  side ;  but  the 
other  party  are  inflamed  with  national  pride  and  devotion 
to  Zenobia,  and  no  power  on  earth  is  sufficient  to  bend  them. 
They  are  the  principal  party  for  numbers, —  much  more,  for 
rank  and  political  power.  They  will  hold  out  till  the  very 
last  moment,  —  till  it  is  reduced  to  a  choice  between  death 
and  capitulation,  —  and  on  the  part  of  the  queen  and  the 
great  spirits  of  Palmyra,  death  would  be  their  unhesitating 
choice,  were  it  not  for  the  destruction  of  so  many  with 
them.  They  will,  therefore,  until  the  last  loaf  of  bread  is 
divided,  keep  the  gates  shut,  —  then  throw  them  open,  and 
meet  the  terms,  whatever  they  may  be,  which  the  power  of 
the  conqueror  may  impose. 

A  formidable  conspiracy  has  been  detected,  and  the  sup 
posed  chiefs  of  it  seized  and  executed.  The  design  was  to 
secure  the  person  of  the  queen,  obtain  by  a  violent  assault 
one  of  the  gates,  and  sallying  out,  deliver  her  into  the 
hands  of  the  Komans,  who,  with  her  in  their  power,  could 
immediately  put  an  end  to  the  contest.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  Antiochus  was  privy  to  it,  although  those  who 
suffered  betrayed  him  not,  if  that  were  the  fact.  But  it  has 


BETRAYED.  337 

been  urged  with  some  force  in  his  favour,  that  none  who 
suffered  would  have  felt  regard  enough  for  him  to  have 
hesitated  to  sacrifice  him,  if,  by  doing  so,  they  could  have 
saved  their  own  lives  or  others. 

Zenobia  displayed  her  usual  dauntless  courage,  her  clem 
ency,  and  her  severity.  The  attack  was  made  upon  her, 
surrounded  by  her  small  body-guard,  as  she  was  returning, 
toward  evening,  from  her  customary  visit  of  observation  to 
the  walls.  It  was  sudden,  violent,  desperate;  but  the 
loyalty  and  bravery  of  the  guards  were  more  than  a  match 
for  the  assassins,  aided,  too,  by  the  powerful  arm  of  the 
queen  herself,  who  was  no  idle  spectator  of  the  fray.  It 
was  a  well-laid  plot,  and,  but  for  an  accidental  addition 
which  was  made  at  the  walls  to  the  queen's  guard,  might 
have  succeeded.  For  the  attack  was  made  just  at  the  Per 
sian  gate,  and  the  keeper  of  the  gate  had  been  gained  over. 
Had  the  guard  been  overpowered  but  for  a  moment,  they 
would  have  shut  the  gate  too  quickly  for  the  citizens  to 
have  roused  to  her  rescue.  Such  of  the  conspirators  as  were 
not  slain  upon  the  spot  were  secured.  Upon  examination, 
they  denied  the  participation  of  others  than  themselves  in 
the  attempt,  and  died  -  -  such  of  them  as  were  executed  —  in 
volving  none  in  their  ruin.  The  queen  would  not  permit 
a  general  slaughter  of  them,  though  urged  to  do  so.  "  The 
ends  of  justice  and  the  safety  of  the  city, "  she  said,  "  would 
be  sufficiently  secured,  if  an  example  were  made  of  such  as 
seemed  manifestly  the  chief  movers.  But  there  should  be 
no  indulgence  of  the  spirit  of  revenge.  "  Those,  accordingly, 
were  beheaded,  the  others  imprisoned. 

While  these  long  and  weary  days  are  passing  away,  Grac 
chus,  Fausta,  Calpurnius,  and  myself,  are  often  at  the  palace 
of  Zenobia.  The  queen  is  gracious,  as  she  ever  is,  but  la 
bouring  under  an  anxiety,  and  an  inward  sorrow  that  im 
print  themselves  deeply  upon  her  countenance,  and  reveal 
themselves  in  a  greater  reserve  of  manner.  When  she  is 
not  engaged  in  some  active  service,  she  is  buried  in  thought, 
and  seems  like  one  revolving  difficult  and  perplexing  ques 
tions.  Sometimes  she  breaks  from  these  moments  of  reverie 

22 


338  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

with  some  sudden  question  to  one  or  another  of  those  around 
her,  from  which  we  can  obscurely  conjecture  the  subjects 
of  her  meditations.  With  Longinus,  Otho,  and  Gracchus, 
she  passes  many  of  her  hours  in  deep  deliberation.  At 
times,  when  apparently  nature  cries  out  for  relief,  she  will 
join  as  as  we  sit  diverting  our  minds  by  conversation  upon 
subjects  as  far  removed  as  possible  from  the  present  dis 
tresses,  and  will,  as  formerly,  shed  the  light  of  her  penetrat 
ing  judgment  upon  whatever  it  is  we  discuss.  But  she  soon 
falls  back  into  herself  again,  and  remains  silent  and  ab 
stracted,  or  leaves  us  and  retreats  to  her  prviate  apartments. 

Suddenly  the  queen  has  announced  a  project  which  fills 
the  city  with  astonishment  at  its  boldness,  and  once  more 
lights  up  hope  within  the  bosoms  of  the  most  desponding. 

Soon  as  her  own  mind  had  conceived  and  matured  it,  her 
friends  and  counsellors  were  summoned  to  receive  it  from 
her,  and  pronounce  their  judgment.  Would  that  I  could 
set  before  you,  my  Curtius,  this  wonderful  woman  as  she 
stood  before  us  at  this  interview!  Never  before  did  she 
seem  so  great,  or  of  such  transcendent  beauty,  —  if  under 
such  circumstances  such  a  thought  may  be  expressed. 
Whatever  of  melancholy  had  for  so  long  a  time  shed  its 
gloom  over  her  features  was  now  gone.  The  native  fire  of 
her  eye  was  restored  and  doubled,  as  it  seemed,  by  the 
thoughts  which  she  was  waiting  to  express.  A  spirit 
greater  than  even  her  own  appeared  to  animate  her,  and  to 
breathe  an  unwonted  majesty  into  her  form,  and  over  her 
countenance. 

She  greeted  all  with  the  warmth  of  a  friend,  and  be 
sought  them  to  hear  her  while  she  presented  a  view  of  the 
present  condition  of  their  affairs,  and  then  proposed  what 
she  could  not  but  believe  might  still  prove  a  means  of  final 
deliverance,  —  at  least  it  might  deserve  their  careful  con 
sideration.  After  having  gone  over  the  course  that  had 
been  pursued,  and  defended  it,  as  that  alone  which  became 
the  dignity  and  honour  of  a  sovereign  and  independent 
power,  she  proceeded  thus  :  — 

"  We  are  now,  it  is  obvious  to  all,  at  the  last  extremity. 


BETRAYED.  839 

If  no  new  outlet  be  opened  from  the  difficulties  which  en 
viron  us,  a  few  days  will  determine  our  fate.  We  must 
open  our  gates,  and  take  such  mercy  as  our  conquerors  may 
bestow.  The  provision  laid  up  in  the  public  granaries  is 
nearly  exhausted.  Already  has  it  been  found  necessary 
greatly  to  diminish  the  amount  of  the  daily  distribution. 
Hope  in  any  power  of  our  own  seems  utterly  extinct.  If 
any  remain  it  rests  on  foreign  interposition,  and  of  this 
I  do  not  despair.  I  still  rely  upon  Persia.  I  look  with 
confidence  to  Sapor  for  further  and  yet  larger  succours.  In 
the  former  instance,  it  was  apprehended  by  many  —  I  con 
fess  I  shared  the  apprehension  —  that  there  would  be  on 
the  part  of  Persia  but  a  parade  of  friendship,  with  nothing  of 
reality.  But  you  well  know  it  was  far  otherwise.  There  was 
a  sincere  and  vigorous  demonstration  in  our  behalf.  Persia 
never  fought  a  better  field,  and  with  slightly  larger  num 
bers,  would  have  accomplished  our  rescue.  My  proposition 
is,  that  we  sue  again  at  the  court  of  Sapor,  —  no,  not  again, 
for  the  first  was  a  free-will  offering,  —  and  that  we  fail  not, 
I  would  go  myself  my  own  ambassador,  and  solicit  —  what 
so  solicited,  my  life  upon  it,  will  not  be  refused.  You  well 
know  that  I  can  bear  with  me  jewels  —  gathered  during  a 
long  reign  —  of  such  value  as  to  plead  eloquently  in  my 
cause ;  since  the  tithe  of  them  would  well  repay  the  Per 
sian  for  all  his  kingdom  might  suffer  for  our  sakes.  " 

"  What  you  propose,  great  queen, "  said  Longinus,  as 
Zenobia  paused,  "  agrees  with  your  whole  life.  But  how 
can  we,  who  hold  you  as  we  do,  sit  in  our  places  and  allow 
you  alone  to  encounter  the  dangers  of  such  an  enterprise  ? 
For  without  danger  it  cannot  be,  —  from  the  robber  of  the 
desert,  from  the  Eoman,  from  the  Persian.  In  disguise 
and  upon  the  road,  you  may  suffer  the  common  fate  of  those 
who  travel  where,  as  now,  marauders  of  all  nations  swarm. 
Sapor  may,  in  his  capricious  policy,  detain  you  prisoner; 
Aurelian  may  intercept  Let  your  servants  prevail  with 
you  to  dismiss  this  thought  from  your  mind.  You  can 
name  no  one  of  all  this  company  who  will  not  plead  to  be 
your  substitute. " 


340  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

There  was  not  one  present  who  did  not  spring  upon  his 
feet,  and  express  his  readiness  to  undertake  the  charge. 

"  I  thank  you  all, "  said  the  queen,  "  but  claim,  in  this, 
perhaps  the  last  act  of  my  reign,  to  be  set  free  in  your  in 
dulgence  to  hold  an  unobstructed  course.  If  in  your  hon 
est  judgments  you  confess  that  of  all  who  could  appear  at 
the  court  of  Sapor,  I  should  appear  there  as  the  most  pow 
erful  pleader  for  Palmyra,  it  is  all  I  ask  you  to  determine. 
Is  such  your  judgment  ?  " 

"  It  is, "  they  all  responded,  —  "  without  doubt  it  is. " 

"  Then  am  I  resolved.  And  the  enterprise  itself  you 
judge  wise  and  of  probable  success  ? " 

"  We  do.  The  reasons  are  just  upon  which  it  is  founded. 
It  is  greatly  conceived,  and,  the  gods  giving  you  safe  con 
duct  to  Sapor,  we  doubt  not  a  happy  result.  * 

"  Then  all  that  remains  is,  to  contrive  the  manner  of 
escape  from  the  city  and  through  the  Kornan  camp. " 

"  There  is,  first,  one  thing  more, "  said  the  Princess  Julia, 
suddenly  rising  from  her  mother's  side,  but  with  a  forced 
and  trembling  courage,  "  which  remains  for  me  to  do.  If 
there  appear  any  want  of  maidenly  reserve  in  what  I  say, 
let  the  cause,  good  friends,  for  which  I  speak  and  act  be 
my  excuse.  It  is  well  known  to  you  who  are  familiar  with 
the  councils  of  the  state,  that  not  many  months  past  Per 
sia  sought  through  me  an  alliance  with  Palmyra.  But  in 
me  you  have  hitherto  found  an  uncomplying  daughter, 
and  you  a  self-willed  princess.  I  now  seek  what  before  I 
have  shunned.  Although  I  know  not  the  Prince  Hor- 
misdas,  report  speaks  worthily  of  him;  but  of  him  I 
think  not.  Yet  if  by  the  offer  of  myself  I  could  now  help 
the  cause  of  my  country,  the  victim  is  ready  for  the  altar. 
Let  Zenobia  bear  with  her  not  only  the  stones  torn  from  her 
crown,  but  this  which  she  so  often  has  termed  her  living 
jewel,  and  if  the  others,  first  proffered,  fail  to  reach  the 
Persian's  heart — then,  not  till  then,  add  the  other  to  the 
scale.  If  it  weigh  to  buy  deliverance  and  prosperity  ta 
Palmyra,  though  I  can  never  be  happy,  yet  —  I  shall  be 
happy  if  the  cause  of  happiness  to  you. " 


BETRAYED.  841 

"  My  noble  child !  "  said  Zenobia,  "  I  cannot  have  so 
startled  the  chiefs  of  Palmyra  by  a  new  and  unthought-of 
project  as  I  am  now  amazed  in  my  turn.  I  dreamed  not  of 
this.  But  I  cannot  hinder  you  in  your  purpose.  It  insures 
success  to  your  country ;  and  to  be  the  instrument  of  that 
will  be  a  rich  compensation  for  even  the  largest  sacrifice  of 
private  affections. " 

The  counsellors  and  senators  who  were  present  expressed 
a  great,  and,  I  doubt  not,  sincere  unwillingness  that  so 
dangerous  a  service  should  be  undertaken  by  those  whom 
they  so  loved,  and  whom  beyond  all  others  they  would 
shield  with  their  lives  from  the  very  shadow  of  harm.  But 
they  were  overcome  by  the  determined  spirit  both  of  the 
queen  and  Julia,  and  by  their  own  secret  conviction  that  it 
was  the  only  act  in  the  power  of  mortals  by  which  the 
existence  of  the  empire  and  city  could  be  preserved. 

At  this  point  of  the  interview,  Calpurnius,  whom  we  had 
missed,  entered,  and  learning  what  had  passed,  announced 
that,  by  a  channel  not  to  be  mistrusted,  he  had  received 
intelligence  of  a  sudden  rising  in  Persia,  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  Sapor,  and  the  elevation  of  Hormisdas  to  the  throne 
of  his  father.  This  imparted  to  all  the  liveliest  pleasure, 
and  seemed  to  take  away  from  the  project  of  the  queen  every 
remaining  source  of  disquietude  and  doubt.  Calpurnius,  at 
the  same  moment,  was  besought  and  offered  himself  to  serve 
as  the  queen's  companion  and  guide;  the  chosen  friend  of 
Hormisdas,  and  whose  friendship  he  had  not  forfeited  by 
his  flight,  no  one  could  so  well  as  he  advocate  her  cause 
with  the  new  king. 

"  But  how  is  it, "  inquired  Longinus,  "  that  you  obtain 
foreign  intelligence,  the  city  thus  beset  ? " 

"  It  may  well  be  asked, "  replied  Calpurnius.  "  It  is 
through  the  intelligence  and  cunning  of  a  Jew  well  known 
in  Palmyra,  and  throughout  the  world  I  believe,  called  Isaac. 
By  him  was  I  rescued  from  Persian  captivity,  and  through 
him  have  I  received  letters  thence  ever  since  the  city  has 
been  besieged.  He  is  acquainted  with  a  subterranean  pas 
sage  —  in  the  time  of  Trajan,  he  has  informed  me,  a  public 


342  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

conduit,  but  long  since  much  choked  and  dry  —  by  which 
one  may  pass  from  the  city  under  and  beyond  the  lines  of 
the  Eoman  intrenchments,  emerging  into  a  deep  ravine  or 
fissure,  grown  thickly  over  with  vines  and  olives.  Once 
it  was  of  size  sufficient  to  admit  an  elephant  with  his  rider ; 
now,  he  says,  it  has  become  so  obstructed,  and  in  some 
places  fallen  in,  that  it  is  with  difficulty  that  a  dromedary 
but  of  the  common  size  can  force  his  way  through. " 

"  Through  this,  then,  the  queen  may  effect  her  escape, " 
said  Longinus. 

"With  perfect  ease  and  security/  rejoined  Calpurnius. 
"  At  the  outlet  Isaac  shall  be  in  waiting  with  the  fleetest 
dromedaries  of  the  royal  stables. " 

"  We  are  satisfied, "  said  Longinus ;  "  let  it  be  as  you  say. 
The  gods  prosper  the  pious  service. " 

So  ended  the  conversation. 

Of  the  ancient  aqueduct,  or  conduit,  you  have  already 
heard  from  me ;  it  is  the  same  by  which  Isaac  has  trans 
mitted  my  late  letters  to  Portia  —  which  I  trust  you  have 
received  and  read.  To  Portia  alone  —  be  not  offended  —  do 
I  pour  out  my  whole  soul.  From  her,  learn  more  of  what 
relates  to  the  princess. 

I  returned  from  the  palace  of  Zenobia  overwhelmed  with 
a  thousand  painful  sensations.  But  this  I  need  not  say. 

Fausta,  upon  learning  the  determination  of  the  queen, 
which  had  been  communicated  not  even  to  her,  exclaimed, 
"  There,  Lucius,  I  have  always  told  you  that  Palmyra 
brought  forth  WOMEN  !  Where  in  the  wide  world  shall  two 
be  found  to  match  Zenobia  and  Julia  ?  But  when  is  the 
time  fixed  for  the  flight  ?  " 

*  To-morrow  night. " 

"  I  will  to  the  palace.  These  may  be  the  last  hours  per 
mitted  by  the  gods  to  our  friendship.  I  must  not  lose  one 
of  them. " 

I  went  not  there  again. 

Late  on  the  evening  of  the  following  day  Fausta  returned, 
her  countenance  betraying  what  she  had  suffered  in  part 
ing  from  those  two,  her  bosom  friends.  It  was  long  ere  she 


BETRAYED.  343 

could  possess  herself  so  far  as  to  give  to  Gracchus  and  my 
self  a  narrative  of  what  had  occurred.  To  do  it,  asked  but 
few  words. 

"  We  have  passed  the  time, "  she  said  at  length,  "  as  you 
might  suppose  those  would  about  to  be  separated  forever ; 
yes,  I  feel  that  I  have  seen  them  for  the  last  time.  It  is 
like  a  conviction  inspired  by  the  gods.  We  did  nought  till 
the  hour  of  attiring  for  the  flight  arrived,  but  sit,  look  upon 
each  other,  embrace,  and  weep.  Not  that  Zenobia,  always 
great,  lost  the  true  command  of  herself,  or  omitted  aught 
that  should  be  done;  but  that  she  was  a  woman  and  a 
mother  and  a  friend,  as  well  as  a  queen  and  a  divinity. 
But  I  can  say  no  more. 

"  Yet  one  thing, "  she  suddenly  resumed,  "  alas !  I  had 
well  nigh  forgotten  it ;  it  should  have  been  said  first,  — • 
what  think  you?  The  Indian  slave,  Sindarina,  was  to 
accompany  the  queen,  but  at  the  hour  of  departure  she  was 
missing.  Her  chamber  was  empty,  the  Arabian  disguise, 
in  which  all  were  to  be  arrayed,  lying  on  her  bed,  she  her 
self  to  be  found  neither  there  nor  anywhere  within  the 
palace.  Another  of  the  queen's  women  was  chosen  in  her 
place.  What  make  you  of  it  ?  " 

"  Treason !  —  treachery !  "  cried  Gracchus,  and,  springing 
from  his  seat,  shouted  for  a  horse. 

"  The  gods  forgive  me, "  cried  the  afflicted  Fausta,  "  that 
this  has  been  forgotten.  Why,  why  did  I  not  lay  to  heart 
the  hints  which  you,  Piso,  dropped  ?  " 

"  In  very  truth, "  I  replied,  "  they  were  almost  too  slight 
to  build  even  a  suspicion  upon.  The  queen  heeded  them 
not,  and  I  myself  had  dismissed  them  from  my  mind  not 
less  than  yourself. " 

"  Not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost, "  said  Gracchus ;  "  the  slave 
must  be  found,  and  all  whom  we  suspect  seized. " 

The  night  was  passed  in  laborious  search,  both  of  the 
slave  and  Antiochus.  The  whole  city  was  abroad  in  a 
common  cause.  All  the  loose  companions  of  Antiochus  and 
the  young  princes  were  taken  and  imprisoned ;  the  sus 
pected  leaders  in  the  affair,  after  a  scrutinizing  search  and 


344  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

public  proclamation,  could  not  be  found.  The  inference 
was  clear  —  agonizing  as  clear  —  that  the  queen's  flight 
had  been  betrayed. 

Another  day  has  revealed  the  whole.  Isaac,  who  acted 
as  guide  through  the  conduit,  and  was  to  serve  in  the  same 
capacity  till  the  party  were  secure  within  a  Persian  for 
tress  not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  has,  by  a 
messenger,  a  servant  of  the  palace,  found  means  to  convey 
a  relation  of  what  befell  after  leaving  Palmyra. 

"  Soon, "  he  says,  "  as  the  shades  of  evening  fell,  the 
queen,  the  Princess  Julia,  Nicomachus,  a  slave,  and  Cal- 
purnius,  arrayed  in  the  garb  of  Arabs  of  the  desert,  together 
with  a  guard  of  ten  soldiers  selected  for  their  bravery  and 
strength,  met  by  different  routes  at  the  mouth  of  the  old 
conduit.  So  noble  a  company  had  I  never  before  the  charge 
of.  Thou  wouldst  never  have  guessed  the  queen  through 
the  veil  of  her  outlandish  garment.  She  became  it  well. 
Not  one  was  more  a  man  than  she.  For  the  princess,  a 
dull  eye  would  have  seen  through  her.  Entering  a  little 
way  in  utter  darkness,  I  then  bade  them  stand  while  I 
lighted  torches.  The  queen  was  near  me  the  while,  and 
asked  me  the  length  of  the  passage,  and  whether  the  walls 
were  of  such  thickness  as  to  prevent  the  voice  from  being 
heard  above. 

"  '  Till  we  reach  one  particular  spot,  where  the  arch  is 
partly  fallen  in, '  I  said,  '  we  may  use  our  tongues  as  freely 
and  as  loud  as  we  please ;  at  that  place  there  will  be  need 
of  special  caution,  as  it  is  directly  beneath  the  Eoman 
intrenchments.  Of  our  approach  thereto  I  will  give  timely 
warning. ' 

"  I  took  occasion  to  say  that  I  was  sorry  the  queen  of 
Palmyra  should  be  compelled  to  pass  through  so  gloomy  a 
cavern,  but  doubtless  He  who  was  with  Deborah  and  Judith 
would  not  forsake  her  who  was  so  fast  a  friend  to  his  people, 
and  who,  if  rumour  might  be  believed,  was  even  herself  one 
of  them.  This,  Roman,  you  will  doubtless  think  bold,  but 
how  could  one  who  was  full  refrain  ?  I  even  added,  '  Fear 
not,  He  who  watches  over  Judah  and  Israel  will  not  fail 


BETRAYED.  345 

to  appear  for  one  by  whose  arm  their  glories  are  to  be  re 
stored.  '  The  queen  at  that  smiled,  and,  if  a  countenance 
may  be  read,  which  I  hold  it  can,  as  well  as  a  book,  it  spoke 
favourable  things  for  Jerusalem. 

"  When  our  torches  were  kindled,  we  went  on  our  way, — 
a  narrow  way  and  dark.  We  went  in  silence  too,  for  I 
quickly  discerned  that  minds  and  hearts  were  too  busy  with 
themselves  and  their  own  sorrows  and  fears  to  choose  to  be 
disturbed.  Ah,  Koman,  how  many  times  harder  the  lot  of 
the  high  than  the  low !  When  we  drew  nigh  to  the  fissure 
in  the  arch,  the  torches  were  again  extinguished,  and  we 
proceeded  at  a  snail's  pace  and  with  a  hyena's  foot  while 
we  were  passing  within  a  few  feet  of  the  then,  as  I  doubted 
not,  sleeping  Romans.  As  we  came  beneath  the  broken  and 
open  part,  I  was  startled  by  the  sound  of  voices.  Soldiers 
were  above,  conversing.  As  we  paused,  through  apprehen 
sion,  a  few  words  were  distinctly  heard. 

"  '  The  times  will  not  bear  it, '  muttered  one ;  '  't  is  a  vain 
attempt. ' 

"  '  His  severity  is  cruelty, '  said  another.  '  Gods,  when 
before  was  it  heard  of  that  a  soldier,  and  such  a  one,  for 
what  every  one  does  whom  chance  favours,  should  be  torn 
limb  from  limb  ?  The  trees  that  wrenched  Stilicho  asun 
der,  ere  they  grow  too  stiff,  may  serve  a  turn  on  hand  to  his 
sword  himself.  He  will  fatten  on  these  starved  citizens 
when  he  climbs  over  their  walls. ' 

"  '  Oh,  no,  by  Jupiter, '  said  the  first,  '  it  is  far  likelier  he 
will  let  them  off,  as  he  did  at  Tyana,  and  we  lose  our  sport. 
It  is  his  own  soldiers'  blood  he  loves. ' 

"  '  He  may  yet  learn, '  replied  the  other,  '  that  soldiers 
wear  weapons  for  one  purpose  as  well  as  another —  Hark  ! 
what  noise  was  that  ?  " 

*  '  It  is  but  some  rat  at  work  within  this  old  arch.  Come, 
let  us  to  bed. ' 

"  They  moved  away,  and  we,  breathing  again,  passed 
along,  and  soon  re-lighted  our  torches. 

"  After  walking  a  weary  distance  from  this  point,  and 
encountering  many  obstacles,  we  at  length  reached  the  long- 


346  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

desired  termination.  The  dromedaries  were  in  readiness, 
and  mounting  them  without  delay,  we  ascended  the  steep 
sides  of  the  ravine,  and  then  at  a  rapid  pace  sought  the  open 
plains.  When  they  were  attained,  I  considered  that  we 
were  out  of  all  danger  from  the  Romans,  and  had  only  to 
apprehend  the  ordinary  dangers  of  this  route  during  a  time 
of  war,  when  freebooters  of  all  the  neighbouring  tribes  are 
apt  to  abound.  '  Here, '  I  said  to  the  queen,  '  we  will  put 
our  animals  to  their  utmost  speed,  as  the  way  is  plain  and 
smooth,  —  having  regard  only, '  I  added,  '  to  yours  and  the 
princess's  strength.'  — '  On,  on,  in  the  name  of  the  gods,' 
said  they  both,  '  we  can  follow  as  fast  as  you  shall  lead. ' 
And  on  we  flew  with  the  speed  of  the  wind.  The  queen's 
animals  were  like  spirits  of  the  air,  with  such  amazing 
fleetness  and  sureness  of  foot  did  they  shoot  over  the  sur 
face  of  the  earth.  The  way  was  wholly  our  own.  We  met 
none ;  we  saw  none.  Thrice  we  paused  to  relieve  those 
not  accustomed  to  such  speed,  or  to  the  peculiar  motion  of 
this  animal.  But  at  each  resting-place  the  queen,  with 
impatience,  hastened  us  away,  saying,  that  '  rest  could  be 
better  had  when  we  had  crossed  the  river ;  and  once  upon 
the  other  bank,  we  were  safe. ' 

"  The  first  flush  of  morning  was  upon  the  sky  as  we  came 
within  sight  of  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  The  river  was 
itself  seen  faintly  glimmering  as  we  wound  down  the  side 
of  a  gentle  hill.  The  country  here  was  broken,  as  it  had 
been  for  many  of  the  last  miles  we  had  rode,  divided  by  low 
ridges,  deep  ravines,  and  stretches  of  wood  and  bush;  so 
that,  to  those  approaching  the  banks  in  the  same  general 
direction,  many  distinct  paths  offered  themselves.  It  was 
here,  0  Piso,  just  as  we  reached  the  foot  of  this  little  hill, 
riding  more  slowly  by  reason  of  the  winding  road,  that  my 
quick  ear  caught  at  a  distance  the  sounds  of  other  hoofs 
upon  the  ground  beside  our  own.  My  heart  sank  within 
me ;  a  sudden  faintness  spread  over  my  limbs.  But  at  the 
instant  I  gave  the  alarm  to  our  troop,  and,  at  greatest  risk 
of  life  and  limb,  we  put  our  beasts  to  their  extreme  speed, 
and  dashed  toward  the  river.  I  still,  as  we  rode,  turning 


BETRAYED.  347 

my  ear  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  heard  with  distinct 
ness  the  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs.  Our  beasts  were  drome 
daries,  —  in  that  lay  my  hope.  Two  hoats  awaited  us  among 
the  rushes  on  the  river's  bank,  in  the  keeping  of  those  who 
had  been  sent  forward  for  that  purpose,  and  off  against 
them,  upon  the  other  side  of  the  stream,  lay  a  small  Per 
sian  village  and  fortress.  Once  off  in  the  boats  but  ever  so 
short  a  distance,  and  we  were  safe.  On  we  flew,  and  on,  I 
was  each  moment  conscious,  came  pursuers,  whoever  they 
might  be.  We  reached  the  river's  edge.  '  Quick,  for  your 
lives, '  I  cried.  '  The  queen,  the  princess,  and  four  men  in 
this  boat.  The  packages  in  the  other. '  In  a  moment,  and 
less  than  that,  we  were  in  our  boat,  a  troop  of  horse  at  the 
same  instant  sweeping,  like  a  blast  of  the  desert,  down 
the  bank  of  the  river.  We  shot  into  the  stream,  but  ere 
the  other  could  gain  the  water  the  Eomans,  as  we  now  too 
plainly  saw  them  to  be,  were  upon  them.  A  brief  but 
desperate  strife  ensued.  The  Komans  were  five  for  one  of 
the  others,  and  quickly  putting  them  to  the  sword,  sprang 
into  their  boat. 

"  '  Pull !  pull ! '  cried  the  queen,  the  first  words  she  had 
uttered,  '  for  your  lives  and  Palmyra's. '  They  gained  upon 
us.  We  had  six  oars,  they  eight ;  but  the  strength  of  three 
seemed  to  nerve  the  arm  of  Calpurnius. 

"  '  Immortal  gods, '  cried  he,  in  inexpressible  agony,  'they 
near  us ; '  and  straining  with  redoubled  energy,  his  oar 
snapped,  and  the  boat  whirled  from  her  course. 

"  '  All  is  lost, '  ejaculated  Zenobia. 

"  A  Eoman  voice  was  now  heard,  '  Yield  you,  and  your 
lives  are  safe. ' 

"  '  Never, '  cried  Calpurnius ;  and  as  the  Eoman  boat 
struck  against  ours,  he  raised  his  broken  oar,  and  aiming 
at  him  who  had  spoken,  lost  his  balance,  and  plunged  head 
long  into  the  stream. 

"  '  Save  him !  —  save  him ! '  cried  the  queen ;  but  they 
heeded  her  not.  '  It  is  vain  to  contend, '  she  cried  out 
again  ;  '  we  yield,  but  save  the  life  of  him  who  has  fallen. ' 

"  The  light  was  not  yet  sufficient  to  see  but  a  little  dis- 


348  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

tance.  Nothing  was  visible  upon  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
water,  nor  any  sound  heard. 

"  '  His  own  rash  fury  has  destroyed  him, '  said  the  Ro- 
man,  who  we  now  could  discern  bore  the  rank  of  centurion. 

"  '  We  seek, '  said  he,  turning  toward  where  the  queen  sat, 
'  we  seek  Zenobia,  queen  of  Palmyra. ' 

"  '  I  am  Zenobia, '  said  the  queen. 

a  *  The  gods  be  praised  therefore, '  rejoined  the  centurion ; 
'  our  commands  are  to  bear  you  to  the  tent  of  Aurelian. ' 

"  '  Do  with  me  as  you  list, '  replied  the  queen ;  '  I  am  in 
your  power. ' 

"  '  To  the  shore, '  exclaimed  the  Roman ;  and  our  boat, 
fastened  to  the  other,  was  soon  at  the  place  whence  but  a 
moment  before  it  had  parted. 

"  '  Who  are  these  ? '  asked  the  centurion,  as  we  reached 
the  shore,  pointing  to  the  princess,  and  the  slave  and 
secretary,  their  attendants.  '  Our  orders  extend  only  to  the 
person  of  the  queen. ' 

"  '  Divide  them  not, '  I  said,  willing  to  spare  the  queen 
the  bandying  of  words  with  a  Roman  soldier ;  '  they  are  of 
the  queen's  family.  They  are  a  part  of  herself.  If  thou 
takest  one,  take  all  to  thy  emperor. ' 

"  '  So  be  it ;  and  now  to  your  horses,  and  once  more  to 
the  plain.  It  shall  go  hard  but  that  what  we  carry  with 
us  will  make  our  fortune  with  Aurelian. ' 

"  Saying  this  the  whole  troop  formed,  placing  Zenobia 
and  Julia  in  the  midst,  and  winding  up  the  banks  of  the 
river,  disappeared. 

"  Such,  O  unhappy  Piso,  was  this  disastrous  night. 
Surely  all  was  done  on  our  part  to  secure  a  successful  issue. 
I  can  discern  no  defect  or  fault.  We  could  not  have  been 
more  fleet.  Swifter  beasts  never  trod  the  sands  of  Arabia. 
What  then  ?  Hath  there  not  been,  think  you,  foul  play  ? 
Whence  got  the  Romans  knowledge,  not  only  of  our  flight, 
but  of  the  very  spot  to  which  we  aimed  ?  I  doubt  not  there 
has  been  treachery,  and  that  of  the  very  colour  of  hell 
Look  to  it,  and  let  not  the  guilty  go  free. 

"  One  word  touching  thy  brother.     Despond  not.     I  can- 


BETRAYED.  349 

not  think  that  he  is  lost.  We  were  but  a  furlong  from  the 
shore.  My  belief  is,  that  seeing  the  capture  of  the  queen 
was  certain,  and  that  to  him,  if  taken  with  her  in  arms 
against  his  country,  death  was  inevitable,  he,  when  he  fell, 
rose  again  at  a  safe  distance,  and  will  yet  be  found. 

"  These  things  I  send  in  haste  by  a  returning  servant  of 
the  palace,  I  remaining  both  to  secure  the  dromedaries  now 
wandering  at  will  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  to  search 
diligently  for  Calpurnius,  whom  I  trust  to  bear  back  with 
me  to  Palmyra. " 

Here,  my  Curtius,  was  food  for  meditation  and  grief,  -~ 
the  renowned  queen  of  this  brilliant  capital  and  kingdom, 
so  late  filling  a  throne  that  drew  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  sitting  there  in  a  proud  magnificence  that  cast  into 
shade  Persia  itself,  is  in  one  short  night  shorn  of  all  her 
power,  a  captive  at  the  mercy  of  a  cruel  foe;  Julia  also 
a  captive;  my  brother,  so  late  redeemed,  as  I  cannot  but 
suppose,  dead.  I  need  not,  nor  can  I,  tell  you  with  what 
emotions  I  read  the  fatal  letter.  The  same  messenger  who 
delivered  it  to  me  had  spread  through  the  city  the  news  of 
the  queen's  captivity.  What  related  to  Calpurnius  I  deter 
mined  to  conceal  from  Fausta,  since  it  was  at  least  possible, 
by  communicating  it,  I  might  cause  a  useless  suffering. 

Fausta,  upon  learning  the  horrors  of  the  night,  which  she 
first  did  from  the  outcries  and  lamentations  in  the  streets, 
seemed  more  like  one  dead  than  alive.  She  could  not  weep, 
the  evil  was  too  great  for  tears.  And  there  being  no  other 
way  in  which  to  give  vent  to  the  grief  that  wrung  her  soul 
in  every  feeling  and  affection,  I  trembled  lest  reason  should 
be  hurled  from  its  seat.  She  wandered  from  room  to  room, 
her  face  of  the  hue  of  death, —  but  indicating  life  enough  in 
its  intense  expression  of  inward  pain,  —  and  speechless,  save 
that  at  intervals,  in  a  low  tone,  "  Zenobia !  Palmyra !  "  fell 
from  her  scarcely  moving  lips.  To  Gracchus  and  myself, 
essaying  to  divert  her  from  thoughts  that  seemed  to  prey 
upon  her  very  life,  she  said,  "  Leave  me  to  wrestle  alone 
with  my  grief,  it  is  the  way  to  strength.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  I  shall  find  it.  " 


350  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  She  is  right, "  said  Gracchus ;  "  to  overcome,  she  must 
fight  her  own  battle.  Our  aid  but  ministers  to  her 
weakness. " 

It  was  not  long  before  she  rejoined  us,  tears  having 
brought  relief  to  her  overburdened  heart. 

Her  first  inquiry  now  was  for  Calpurnius.  "  I  have 
feared  to  ask,  for  if  he  too  is  captive,  I  know  that  he  is  lost. 
Now  I  can  hear  and  bear  all.  How  is  it,  Lucius  ?  " 

I  answered  "  that  he  was  not  a  captive, —  so  much  was 
known ;  but  where  he  now  was,  or  what  had  befallen  him, 
was  not  known.  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  would 
find  his  way  back,  through  the  guidance  of  Isaac,  to  the 
city. " 

"  Alas !  I  read  in  your  words  his  fate.  But  I  will  not 
urge  you  farther.  I  will  live  upon  all  the  hope  that  I  can 
keep  alive.  Yet,  it  is  not  the  death  of  Calpurnius,  nor  yet 
of  Zenobia,  or  Julia,  that  wrings  the  soul  and  saps  its 
life,  like  this  bitter,  bitter  disappointment,  —  this  base 
treason  of  Antiochus.  To  be  so  near  the  summit  of  our 
best  hopes,  only  to  be  cast  down  into  this  deep  abyss,  —  that 
is  the  sting  in  our  calamity  that  shoots  deepest,  and  for 
which  there  is  no  cure.  Is  there  no  other  way,  father,  in 
which  we  can  explain  the  capture  of  the  queen  ?  Accident, 
—  could  it  not  be  accident  that  threw  the  troop  of  Aurelian 
in  their  way  ?  " 

"  I  fear  not, "  said  Gracchus.  "  When  we  add  what 
rumour  has  heretofore  reported  of  the  aims  of  Antiochus, 
but  which  we  have  all  too  much  contemned  him  to  believe 
him  capable  of,  to  what  has  now  occurred,  I  think  we  can 
not  doubt  that  he  is  the  author  of  the  evil,  seducing  into 
his  plot  the  queen's  slave,  through  whom  he  received  in 
telligence  of  every  plan  and  movement.  " 

"  Ah,  cruel  treachery !  How  can  one  join  together  the 
sweet  innocent  face  of  Sindarina  and  such  deep  hypocrisy  ? 
Antiochus  surety  must  have  perverted  her  by  magic  arts. 
Of  that  I  am  sure.  But  what  fruit  can  Antiochus  hope  his 
treason  shall  bear  for  him?  Can  he  think  that  Palmyra 
will  endure  his  rule  ?  " 


BETRAYED.  351 

"  That, "  replied  Gracchus,  "  must  be  his  hope.  The  party 
of  the  discontented  we  well  know  to  be  large ;  upon  them 
he  feels  that  he  may  rely.  Then,  his  treason  recommend 
ing  him  to  Aurelian,  he  builds  upon  his  power  to  establish 
him  upon  the  throne,  and  sustain  him  there  till  his  own 
strength  shall  have  grown  so  that  he  can  stand  alone. 
That  the  city  will  surrender  upon  the  news  of  the  queen's 
captivity,  he  doubtless  calculates  upon  as  certain. " 

"  May  his  every  hope, "  cried  Fausta,  "  be  blasted,  and  a 
little  of  the  misery  he  has  poured  without  stint  into  our 
hearts  wring  his  own ;  and  when  he  cries  for  mercy,  may  he 
find  none. " 

"  One  hope, "  I  said  here,  "  if  I  know  aught  of  the  nature 
of  Aurelian,  and  upon  which  he  must  chiefly  found  his 
project,  will  sink  under  him  to  his  shame  and  ruin. " 

"  What  mean  you  ?  "  said  Fausta,  eagerly. 

"  His  belief  that  Aurelian  will  reward  baseness,  though 
to  an  enemy.  He  never  did  it  yet,  and  he  cannot  do  it. 
Were  there  within  the  thick  skull  of  Antiochus  the  brains 
of  a  foolish  ostrich,  he  would  have  read  in  the  fate  of  Hera- 
clammon,  the  rich  traitor  of  Tyana,  his  own.  If  I  err  not, 
he  has  indiscreetly  enough  thrust  himself  into  a  lion's  den. 
If  Aurelian  is  fierce,  his  is  the  grand  and  terrific  ferocity 
of  the  lion. " 

"  May  it  be  so, "  said  Fausta.  "  There  were  no  providence 
in  the  gods,  did  such  villany  escape  punishment,  —  still 
more,  did  it  grow  great.  But  if  Aurelian  is  such  as  you 
describe  him,  oh,  then,  is  there  not  reason  in  the  belief  that 
he  will  do  gently  by  her  ?  Were  it  compatible  with  great 
ness  or  generosity,  and  these,  you  say,  belong  to  the  em 
peror,  to  take  revenge  upon  an  enemy  thrown  by  such  means 
into  his  power  ?  —  and  such  an  enemy,  —  and  that  too  a 
woman  —  Julia  too !  0  immortal  gods,  how  bitter  past 
drinking  is  this  cup !  " 

"  Yet  must  you  —  must  we  not  lean  too  confidently  upon 
the  dispositions  of  Aurelian.  He  is  subject,  though  supreme, 
to  the  state,  —  nay,  and  in  some  sense  to  the  army ;  and  what 
he  might  gladly  do  of  his  own  free  and  generous  nature, 


352  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

policy  and  the  contrary  wishes,  and  sometimes  requisitions, 
of  his  troops,  or  of  the  people,  compel  him  to  forbear.  The 
usage  of  Koine  toward  captive  princes  has  been,  and  is,  cruel. 
Yet  the  emperor  does  much  to  modify  it,  giving  it,  accord 
ing  to  his  own  temper,  a  more  or  less  savage  character.  And 
Aurelian  has  displayed  great  independence  in  his  acts,  both 
of  people  and  soldiers.  There  is  much  ground  for  hope,  but 
it  must  not  pass  into  confident  expectation.  " 

"  You,  Lucius,  in  former  days,  have  known  Aurelian  well 
before  fortune  raised  him  to  this  high  eminence.  You  say 
you  were  his  friend.  Could  you  not  —  " 

"  No.  I  fear  with  scarce  any  hope  of  doing  good.  My 
residence  here  during  all  these  troubles  will,  I  doubt  not, 
raise  suspicions  in  the  mind  of  Aurelian  which  it  will  not 
be  easy  to  allay.  But  whenever  I  shall  have  it  in  my  power 
to  present  myself  before  him,  I  shall  not  fail  to  press  upon 
him  arguments,  which,  if  he  shall  act  freely,  cannot,  I 
think,  but  weigh  with  him.  " 

"  Ought  not  the  city  now, "  said  Fausta,  addressing  Grac 
chus,  "  to  surrender,  and,  if  it  can  do  no  better,  throw  itself 
upon  the  mercy  of  Aurelian  ?  I  see  not  now  what  can  be 
gained  by  longer  resistance ;  and  would  not  a  still  pro 
tracted  refusal  to  capitulate,  and  when  it  must  be  without 
the  faintest  expectation  of  ultimate  success,  tend  merely, 
and  with  certainty,  to  exasperate  Aurelian,  perhaps  embitter 
him  toward  the  queen  ?  " 

"  I  can  scarcely  doubt  that  it  would, "  replied  Gracchus. 
"  The  city  ought  to  surrender.  Soon  as  the  first  flood  of  grief 
has  spent  itself,  must  we  hasten  to  accomplish  it,  if  pos 
sible.  Longinus,  to  whom  will  now  be  intrusted  the  chief 
power,  will  advocate  it,  I  am  sure ;  so  will  Otho,  Seleucus, 
Gabrayas ;  but  the  army  will,  I  fear,  be  opposed  to  it,  and 
will,  more  through  a  certain  pride  of  their  order  than  from 
any  principle,  incline  to  hold  out.  It  is  time  I  sought 
Longinus. " 

He  departed  in  search  of  the  Greek.  I  went  forth  into 
the  streets  to  learn  the  opinions  and  observe  the  behaviour 
of  the  people. 


MAUSOLEUM  CONTAINING  SARCOPHAGI. 


BETRAYED.  358 

The  shades  of  night  are  around  me ;  the  palace  is  still ; 
the  city  sleeps.  I  resume  my  pen  to  add  a  few  words  to 
this  epistle,  already  long, —  but  they  are  words  that  convey 
so  much  that  I  cannot  but  add  them  for  my  own  pleasure, 
not  less  than  yours.  They  are  in  brief  these :  Calpurnius 
is  alive,  and  once  again  returned  to  us.  The  conjecture  of 
Isaac  was  a  description  of  the  truth.  My  brother,  knowing 
well  that,  if  apprehended,  his  death  were  certain,  had  in 
the  outset,  resolved,  if  attacked,  rather  to  provoke  his  death, 
and  insure  it  in  the  violence  of  a  conflict,  than  be  reserved 
for  the  axe  of  the  Eoman  executioner.  But  in  the  short 
moment  in  which  he  fell  headlong  into  the  river,  it  flashed 
across  his  mind :  "  The  darkness  favours  my  escape ;  I 
can  reach  the  shore ;  "  so  swimming  a  short  distance  be 
low  the  surface,  and  falling  down  with  the  stream,  and 
softly  rising,  concealed  himself  among  the  reeds  upon  the 
margin  of  the  stream.  Finding  the  field,  in  a  short  time, 
wholly  in  possession  of  Isaac,  he  revealed  himself  and  joined 
him,  returning  to  the  city  as  soon  as  the  darkness  of  the 
night  permitted.  Here  is  a  little  gleam  of  light  breaking 
through  Fausta's  almost  solid  gloom.  A  smile  has  once 
more  played  over  her  features.  In  the  evening,  after  Cal 
purnius 's  return,  she  tried  her  harp,  but  the  sounds  it  gave 
out  only  seemed  to  increase  her  sorrow,  and  she  threw  it 
from  her.  "  Music, "  said  Gracchus,  "  is  in  its  nature  mel 
ancholy,  and  how,  my  child,  can  you  think  to  forget  or  stifle 
grief  by  waking  the  strings  of  your  harp,  whose  tones,  of 
all  other  instruments,  are  the  most  melancholy  ?  And  yet 
sometimes  sadness  seeks  sadness,  and  finds  in  it  its  best 
relief.  But  now,  Fausta,  rather  let  sleep  be  your  minister 
and  nurse. " 

So  we  parted.     Farewell 


354  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTEK  XV. 

AURELIAN  AND   ZENOBIA. 

THE  CAPTURE.  —  AURELIAN.  —  SINDARINA'S  REMORSE.  —  ANTI 
OCHUS.  —  THE  REWARD  OF  A  TRAITOR.  —  THE  REVOLT  OF  THE 
SOLDIERY.  —  AURELIAN  DEFENDS  THE  QUEEN.  —  THE  FALL  OF 
PALMYRA.  —  THE  ESCAPE  OF  CALPURNIUS.  —  Piso  HAS  AN  IN 
TERVIEW  WITH  AURELIAN.  —  VAIN  INTERCESSION. 

IT  were  a  vain  endeavour,  my  Curtius,  to  attempt  to 
describe  the  fever  of  indignation  and  rage  and  grief 
that  burned  in  the  bosoms  of  this  unhappy  people,  as  soon 
as  it  was  known  that  their  queen  was  a  captive  in  the  hands 
of  the  Komans.  Those  imprisoned  upon  suspicion  of  having 
been  concerned  in  her  betrayal,  would  have  been  torn  from 
their  confinement,  and  sacrificed  to  the  wrath  of  the  citizens, 
in  the  first  hours  of  their  excitement,  but  for  the  formidable 
guard  by  which  the  prisons  were  defended.  The  whole 
population  seemed  in  the  streets  and  public  places,  giving 
and  receiving  with  eagerness  such  intelligence  as  could  be 
obtained.  Their  affliction  is  such  as  it  would  be,  had  each 
one  lost  a  parent  or  a  friend.  The  men  rave,  or  sit,  or  wan 
der  about  listless  and  sad ;  the  women  weep ;  children  catch 
the  infection,  and  lament  as  for  the  greatest  misfortune 
that  could  have  overtaken  them.  The  soldiers,  at  first 
dumb  with  amazement  at  so  unlooked  for  and  unaccountable 
a  catastrophe,  afterwards,  upon  learning  that  it  fell  out 
through  the  treason  of  Antiochus,  bound  themselves  by 
oaths  never  to  acknowledge  or  submit  to  his  authority, 
though  Aurelian  himself  should  impose  him  upon  them, 
nay,  to  sacrifice  him  to  the  violated  honour  of  the  empire, 
if  ever  he  should  fall  into  their  power. 

Yet  all  are  not  such.     The  numbers  are  not  contemptible 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  355 

of  those  who,  openly  or  secretly,  favour  the  cause  and  ap 
prove  the  act  of  Antiochus.  He  has  not  committed  so  great 
a  crime  without  some  prospect  of  advantage  from  it,  nor 
without  the  assurance  that  a  large  party  of  the  citizens, 
though  not  the  largest,  is  with  him,  and  will  adhere  to  his 
fortunes.  These  are  they  who  think,  and  justly  think,  that 
the  queen  sacrificed  the  country  to  her  insane  ambition  and 
pride.  They  cleave  to  Antiochus,  not  from  personal  regard 
toward  him,  but  because  he  seems  more  available  for  their 
present  purposes  than  any  other,  principally  through  his  fool 
hardy  ambition ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  abandon  the 
queen,  not  for  want  of  a  personal  affection,  equal  perhaps 
to  what  exists  in  any  others,  but  because  they  conceive  that 
the  power  of  Home  is  too  mighty  to  contend  with,  and  that 
their  best  interests,  rather  than  any  extravagant  notions  of 
national  honour,  ought  to  prompt  their  measures. 

The  city  will  now  give  itself  up,  it  is  probable,  upon  the 
first  summons  of  Aurelian.  The  council  and  the  senate  have 
determined  that  to  hold  out  longer  than  a  few  days  more  is 
impossible.  The  provisions  of  the  public  granaries  are  ex 
hausted,  and  the  people  are  already  beginning  to  be  pinched 
with  hunger.  The  rich,  and  all  who  have  been  enabled  to 
subsist  upon  their  own  stores,  are  now  engaged  in  distribut 
ing  what  remains  among  the  poorer  sort,  and  who  are  now 
thrown  upon  their  compassion.  May  it  not  be  that  I  am 
to  be  a  witness  of  a  people  dying  of  hunger !  Gracchus  and 
Fausta  are  busily  employed  in  relieving  the  wants  of  the 
suffering. 

We  have  waited  impatiently  to  hear  the  fate  of  the  queen. 
Many  reports  have  prevailed,  founded  upon  what  has  been 
observed  from  the  walls.  At  one  time  it  has  been  said  that 
she  had  perished  under  the  hands  of  the  executioner;  at 
another,  that  the  whole  Eoman  camp  had  been  seen  to 
be  thrown  into  wild  tumult,  and  that  she  had  doubtless 
fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  ungovernable  fury  of  the  licentious 
soldiery.  I  cannot  think  either  report  probable.  Aurelian, 
if  he  revenged  himself  by  her  death,  would  reserve  her  for 
execution  on  the  day  of  his  triumph.  But  he  would  never 


356  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

tarnish  his  glory  by  such  an  act.  And  for  the  soldiers,  — • 
I  am  sure  of  nothing  more  than  that  they  are  under  too  rigid 
a  discipline,  and  hold  Aurelian  in  too  great  terror,  to  dare 
commit  a  violence  like  that  which  has  been  imputed  to 
them. 

At  length  —  for  hours  are  months  in  such  suspense  —  we 
are  relieved.  Letters  have  come  from  Nicomachus  to  both 
Longinus  and  Livia. 

First,  their  sum  is,  —  the  queen  lives ! 

I  shall  give  you  what  I  gather  from  them. 

"  When  we  had  parted, "  writes  the  secretary,  "  from  the 
river's  edge,  we  were  led  at  a  rapid  pace  over  the  same  path 
we  had  just  come,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Koman  camp. 
I  learned  from  what  I  overheard  of  the  conversation  of  the 
centurion  with  his  companion  at  his  side,  that  the  flight  of 
the  queen  had  been  betrayed ;  but  beyond  that,  nothing. 

"  We  were  taken  not  at  once  to  the  presence  of  Aurelian, 
but  lodged  in  one  of  the  abandoned  palaces  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  —  that  of  Seleucus,  if  I  err  not,  —  where  the 
queen  being  assigned  the  apartments  needful  for  her  and 
her  effects,  a  guard  was  set  around  the  building. 

"  Here  we  had  remained  not  long,  yet  long  enough  for  the 
queen  to  exchange  her  disguise  for  her  usual  robes,  when  it 
was  announced  by  the  centurion  that  we  must  proceed  to 
the  tent  of  the  emperor.  The  queen  and  the  princess  were 
placed  in  a  close  litter,  and  conveyed  secretly  there,  out  of 
fear  of  the  soldiers,  '  who, '  said  the  centurion,  '  if  made 
aware  of  whom  we  carry,  would  in  their  rage  tear  to  frag 
ments  and  scatter  to  the  winds  both  the  litter  and  its 
burden. ' 

"  We  were  in  this  manner  borne  through  the  camp  to  the 
tent  of  Aurelian.  As  we  entered,  the  emperor  stood  at  its 
upper  end,  surrounded  by  the  chief  persons  of  his  army. 
He  advanced  to  meet  the  queen,  and  in  his  changing  coun 
tenance  and  disturbed  manner  might  it  be  plainly  seen  how 
even  an  emperor,  and  he  the  emperor  of  the  world,  felt  the 
presence  of  a  majesty  such  as  Zenobia's.  And  never  did 
our  great  mistress  seem  more  a  queen  than  now,  —  not 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  3o7 

through  that  commanding  pride,  which,  when  upon  her 
throne,  has  impressed  all  who  have  approached  her  with  a 
feeling  of  inferiority,  but  through  a  certain  dark  and  solemn 
grandeur  that  struck  with  awe,  as  if  some  superior  being, 
those  who  looked  upon  her.  There  were  no  signs  of  grief 
upon  her  countenance,  but  many  of  a  deep  and  rooted  sad 
ness  such  as  might  never  pass  away.  No  one  could  behold 
her,  and  not  lament  the  fortune  that  had  brought  her  to 
such  a  pass.  Whoever  had  thought  to  enjoy  the  triumph 
of  exulting  over  the  royal  captive,  was  rebuked  by  that  air 
of  calm  dignity  and  profound  melancholy,  which,  even 
against  the  will,  touched  the  hearts  of  all,  and  forced  their 
homage. 

"  '  It  is  a  happy  day  for  Rome, '  said  Aurelian,  approach 
ing  and  saluting  her,  '  that  sees  you,  lately  queen  of  Pal 
myra  and  of  the  East,  a  captive  in  the  tent  of  Aurelian. ' 

' '  And  a  dark  one  for  my  afflicted  country, '  replied  the 
queen. 

"  '  It  might  have  been  darker, '  rejoined  the  emperor,  '  had 
not  the  good  providence  of  the  gods  delivered  you  into  my 
hands. ' 

"  *  The  gods  preside  not  over  treachery.  And  it  must 
have  been  by  treason  among  those  in  whom  I  have  placed 
my  most  familiar  trust,  that  I  am  now  where  and  what  I  am. 
I  can  but  darkly  surmise  by  whose  baseness  the  act  has  been 
committed.  It  had  been  a  noble  triumph  to  you,  Roman, 
and  a  lighter  fall  to  me,  had  the  field  of  battle  decided  the 
fate  of  my  kingdom,  and  led  me  a  prisoner  to  your  tent. ' 

'  Doubtless  it  had  been  so, '  replied  Aurelian ;  '  yet  was 
it  for  me  to  cast  away  what  chance  threw  into  my  power  ? 
A  war  is  now  happily  ended,  which,  had  your  boat  reached 
the  further  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  might  yet  have  raged, — 
and  but  to  the  mutual  harm  of  two  great  nations.  Yet  it 
was  both  a  bold  and  sagacious  device,  and  agrees  well  with 
what  was  done  by  you  at  Antioch,  Emesa,  and  now  in 
the  defence  of  your  city.  A  more  determined,  a  better- 
appointed,  or  more  desperate  foe,  I  never  yet  have  con 
tended  with, ' 


358  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  '  It  were  strange,  indeed, '  replied  the  queen,  '  if  you  met 
not  with  a  determined  foe,  when  life  and  liberty  were  to  be 
defended.  Had  not  treason,  base  and  accursed  treason, 
given  me  up  like  a  chained  slave  to  your  power,  yonder 
walls  must  have  first  been  beaten  piecemeal  down  by  your 
engines,  and  buried  me  beneath  their  ruins,  and  famine 
clutched  all  whom  the  sword  had  spared,  ere  we  had  owned 
you  master.  What  is  life,  when  liberty  and  independence 
are  gone  ? ' 

"  '  But  why,  let  me  ask, '  said  Aurelian,  '  were  you  moved 
to  assert  an  independency  of  Kome  ?  How  many  peaceful 
and  prosperous  years  have  rolled  on  since  Trajan  and  the 
Antonines,  while  you  and  Kome  were  at  harmony,  —  a  part 
of  us  and  yet  independent,  allies  rather  than  a  subject 
province,  using  our  power  for  your  defence,  yet  owing 
no  allegiance.  Why  was  this  order  disturbed?  What 
madness  ruled  to  turn  you  against  the  power  of  Rome  ? ' 

"  '  The  same  madness, '  replied  Zenobia,  '  that  tells  Aure 
lian  he  may  yet  possess  the  whole  world,  and  sends  him 
here  into  the  far  East  to  wage  needless  war  with  a  woman, — 
Ambition.  Yet  had  Aurelian  always  been  upon  the  Roman 
throne,  or  one  resembling  him,  it  had  perhaps  been  dif 
ferent.  There  then  could  have  been  nought  but  honour  in 
any  alliance  that  had  bound  together  Rome  and  Palmyra. 
But  was  I,  was  the  late  renowned  Odenatus,  to  confess 
allegiance  to  base  souls  such  as  Aureolus,  Gallienus,  Balista  ? 
While  the  thirty  tyrants  were  fighting  for  the  Roman  crown, 
was  I  to  sit  still,  waiting  humbly  to  become  the  passive  prey 
of  whoever  might  please  to  call  me  his  ?  By  the  immortal 
gods,  not  so !  I  asserted  my  supremacy,  and  made  it  felt ; 
and  in  times  of  tumult  arid  confusion  to  Rome,  while  her 
eastern  provinces  were  one  scene  of  discord  and  civil  broil, 
I  came  in,  and  reduced  the  jarring  elements,  and  out  of 
parts  broken  and  sundered  and  hostile,  I  constructed  a  fair 
and  well-proportioned  whole.  And  when  once  created,  and 
I  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  sovereign  and  despotic  power,  — 
what  they  are,  thou  knowest,  —  was  I  tamely  to  yield  the 
whole  at  the  word  or  threat  even  of  Aurelian  ?  It  could 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  359 

not  be.  So  many  years  as  had  passed  and  seen  me  queen, 
not  of  Palmyra  only,  but  of  the  East,  —  a  sovereign  honoured 
and  courted  at  Eome,  feared  by  Persia,  my  alliance  sought 
by  all  the  neighbouring  dominions  of  Asia, —  had  served  but 
to  foster  in  me  that  love  of  rule  which  descended  to  me  from 
a  long  line  of  kings.  Sprung  from  a  royal  line,  and  so  long 
upon  a  throne,  it  was  superior  force  alone  —  divine  or  hu 
man  —  that  should  drag  me  from  my  right.  Thou  hast  been 
but  four  years  king,  Aurelian,  monarch  of  the  great  Eoman 
world,  yet  wouldst  thou  not,  but  with  painful  unwilling 
ness,  descend  and  mix  with  the  common  herd.  For  me, 
ceasing  to  reign,  I  would  cease  to  live. ' 

"  '  Thy  speech, '  said  Aurelian,  '  shows  thee  well  worthy  to 
reign.  It  is  no  treason  to  Eome,  Carus,  to  lament  that  the 
fates  have  cast  down  from  a  throne  one  who  filled  its  seat  so 
well.  Hadst  thou  hearkened  to  the  message  of  Petronius, 
thou  mightest  still,  lady,  have  sat  upon  thy  native  seat. 
The  crown  of  Palmyra  might  still  have  girt  thy  brow. ' 

"  '  But  not  of  the  East, '  rejoined  the  queen. 

"  '  Fight  against  ambition,  Carus ;  thou  seest  how,  by  aim 
ing  at  too  much,  it  loses  all.  It  is  the  bane  of  humanity. 
When  I  am  dead,  may  ambition  then  die,  nor  rise  again. ' 

'  May  it  be  so, '  replied  the  general ;  '  it  has  greatly 
cursed  the  world.     It  were  better  perhaps  that  it  died  now. ' 

"  '  It  cannot, '  replied  Aurelian ;  '  its  life  is  too  strong. 
I  lament,  too,  great  queen,  for  so  I  may  well  call  thee,  that 
upon  an  ancient  defender  of  our  Eoman  honour,  upon  her 
who  revenged  Eome  upon  the  insolent  Persian,  this  heavy 
fate  should  fall.  I  would  willingly  have  met  for  the  first 
time,  in  a  different  way,  the  brave  conqueror  of  Sapor,  the 
avenger  of  the  wrongs  and  insults  of  the  virtuous  Valerian. 
The  debt  of  Eome  to  Zenobia  is  great,  and  shall  yet,  in  some 
sort  at  least,  be  paid.  Curses  upon  those  who  moved  thee 
to  this  war.  They  have  brought  this  calamity  upon  thee, 
queen,  not  I,  nor  thou.  What  ill-designing  aspirants  have 
urged  thee  on  ?  This  is  not  a  woman's  war. ' 

"  '  Was  not  that  a  woman's  war, '  replied  the  queen,  '  that 
drove  the  Goths  from  Upper  Asia  ?  Was  not  that  a  woman 's 


360  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF   PALMYRA. 

war  that  hemmed  Sapor  in  his  capital,  and  seized  his  camp; 
and  that  which  beat  Heraclianus,  and  gained  thereby 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia;  and  that  which  worsted  Probus, 
and  so  won  the  crown  of  Egypt  ?  Does  it  ask  for  more  to 
be  beaten  by  Eomans,  than  to  conquer  these  ?  Rest  assured, 
great  prince,  that  the  war  was  mine.  My  people  were  in 
deed  with  me,  but  it  was  I  who  roused,  fired,  and  led  them 
on.  I  had  indeed  great  advisers.  Their  names  are  known 
throughout  the  world.  Why  should  I  name  the  renowned 
Longinus,  the  princely  Gracchus,  the  invincible  Zabdas,  the 
honest  Otho  ?  Their  names  are  honoured  in  Rome  as  well 
as  here.  They  have  been  with  me ;  but,  without  lying  or 
vanity,  I  may  say  I  have  been  their  head. ' 

"  '  Be  it  so ;  nevertheless,  thy  services  shall  be  remem 
bered.  But  let  us  now  to  the  affairs  before  us.  The  city 
has  not  surrendered ;  though  thy  captivity  is  known,  the 
gates  still  are  shut.  A  word  from  thee  would  open  them. ' 

"  '  It  is  a  word  I  cannot  speak, '  replied  the  queen,  her 
countenance  expressing  now,  instead  of  sorrow,  indigna 
tion  ;  '  wouldst  thou  that  I  too  should  turn  traitor  ? ' 

"  '  It  surely  would  not  be  that, '  replied  the  emperor.  '  It 
can  avail  nought  to  contend  further ;  it  can  but  end  in  a 
wider  destruction,  both  of  your  people  and  my  soldiers. ' 

"  '  Longinus,  I  may  suppose, '  said  Zenobia,  '  is  now  su 
preme.  Let  the  emperor  address  him,  and  what  is  right 
will  be  done. ' 

"  Aurelian  turned,  and  held  a  brief  conversation  with 
some  of  his  officers.  '  Within  the  walls, '  said  the  emperor, 
again  addressing  the  queen,  *  thou  hast  sons.  Is  it  not  so  ? ' 

"  '  It  is  not  they, '  said  the  queen,  quickly,  her  counte 
nance  growing  pale,  —  'it  is  not  they,  or  either  of  them, 
who  have  conspired  against  me?' 

"  '  No,  not  quite  so.  Yet  he  who  betrayed  thee  calls 
himself  of  thy  family.  Thy  sons  surely  were  not  in  league 
with  him.  Soldiers, '  cried  the  emperor,  '  lead  forth  the 
great  Antiochus  and  his  slave. ' 

"  At  his  name  the  queen  started ;  the  princess  uttered  a 
faint  cry,  and  seemed  as  if  she  would  have  fallen. 


AURELIAN   AND  ZENOBIA.  361 

"  A  fold  of  the  tent  was  drawn  aside,  and  the  huge  form 
of  Antiochus  appeared,  followed  by  the  queen's  slave,  her 
head  bent  down,  and  eyes  cast  upon  the  ground.  If  a  look 
could  have  killed,  the  first  glance  of  Zenobia,  so  full  of  a 
withering  contempt,  would  have  destroyed  her  base  kins 
man.  He  heeded  it  but  so  much  as  to  blush,  and  turn  away 
his  face  from  her.  Upon  Sindarina  the  queen  gazed  with  a 
look  of  deepest  sorrow.  The  beautiful  slave  stood  there 
where  she  entered,  not  lifting  her  head,  but  her  bosom 
rising  and  falling  with  some  great  emotion,  — conscious,  as 
it  seemed,  that  the  queen's  look  was  fastened  upon  her,  and 
fearing  to  meet  it.  But  it  was  so  only  for  a  moment,  when 
raising  her  head,  and  revealing  a  countenance  swollen  with 
grief,  she  rushed  toward  the  queen,  and  threw  herself  at 
her  feet,  embracing  them,  and  covering  them  with  kisses. 
Her  deep  sobs  took  away  all  power  of  speech.  The  queen 
only  said,  '  My  poor  Sindarina !  ' 

"  The  stern  voice  of  Aurelian  was  first  heard,  '  Bear  her 
away !  —  bear  her  from  the  tent !  '  A  guard  seized  her,  and 
forcibly  separating  her  from  Zenobia,  bore  her  weeping 
away. 

"  '  This, '  said  Aurelian,  turning  now  to  Zenobia,  —  '  this 
is  thy  kinsman,  as  he  tells  me,  — the  Prince  Antiochus? ' 

"  The  queen  replied  not. 

"  '  He  has  done  Rome  a  great  service. '  Antiochus  raised 
his  head,  and  strained  his  stooping  shoulders.  '  He  has  the 
merit  of  ending  a  weary  and  disastrous  war.  It  is  a  rare 
fortune  to  fall  to  any  one.  'T  is  a  work  to  grow  great  upon. 
Yet,  prince, '  turning  to  Antiochus,  '  the  work  is  not  com 
plete.  The  city  yet  holds  out.  If  I  am  to  reward  thee  with 
the  sovereign  power,  as  thou  sayest,  thou  must  open  the 
gates.  Canst  thou  do  it  ? ' 

'  Great  prince, '  replied  the  base  spirit,  eagerly,  '  it  is 
provided  for.  Allow  me  but  a  few  moments,  and  a  place 
proper  for  it,  and  the  gates,  I  warrant,  shall  quickly  swing 
upon  their  hinges. ' 

"  '  Ah !  do  you  say  so  ?  That  is  well.  What,  I  pray,  is 
the  process  ? ' 


362  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  '  At  a  signal,  which  I  shall  make,  noble  prince,  and 
which  has  been  agreed  upon,  every  head  of  every  one  of  the 
queen's  party  rolls  in  the  dust;  Longinus,  Gracchus  and 
his  daughter,  Seleucus,  Gabrayas,  and  a  host  more,  their 
heads  fall.  The  gates  are  then  to  be  thrown  open. ' 

"  '  Noble  Palmyrene,  you  have  the  thanks  of  all.  Of  the 
city  then  we  are  at  length  secure.  For  this,  thou  wouldst 
have  the  rule  of  it  under  Kome,  wielding  a  sceptre  in  the 
name  of  the  Koman  senate,  and  paying  tribute  as  a  subject 
province.  Is  it  not  so  ? ' 

"  '  It  is.  That  is  what  I  would  have,  and  would  do,  most 
excellent  Aurelian. ' 

"  '  Who  are  thy  associates  in  this  ?  Are  the  queen's  sons, 
Herennianus,  Timolaus,  Vabalathus,  of  thy  side,  and  part 
ners  in  this  enterprise  ? ' 

"  '  They  are  not  knowing  to  the  design  to  deliver  up  to 
thy  great  power  the  queen,  their  mother ;  but  they  are  my 
friends,  and  most  surely  do  I  count  upon  their  support.  As 
I  shall  return  king  of  Palmyra,  they  will  gladly  share  my 
power. ' 

"  '  But  if  friends  of  thine,  they  are  enemies  of  mine, '  re 
joined  Aurelian,  in  terrific  tones ;  '  they  are  seeds  of  future 
trouble;  they  may  sprout  up  into  kings  also,  to  Eome's 
annoyance.  They  must  be  crushed.  Dost  thou  understand 
me?' 

"  '  I  do,  great  prince.  Leave  them  to  me ;  I  will  do  for 
them.  But  to  say  the  truth,  they  are  too  weak  to  disturb 
any,  —  friends  or  enemies. ' 

"  '  Escape  not  so.     They  must  die, '  roared  Aurelian. 

"  '  They  shall  —  they  shall,'  ejaculated  the  alarmed  An- 
tiochus ;  '  soon  as  I  am  within  the  walls,  their  heads  shall 
be  sent  thee. ' 

"  '  That  now  is  as  I  would  have  it.  One  thing  more  thou 
hast  asked,  — that  the  fair  slave  who  accompanies  thee  be 
spared  to  thee,  to  be  thy  queen. ' 

a  'It  was  her  desire,  — hers, — noble  Aurelian,  not  mine. ' 

"  'But  didst  thou  not  engage  to  her  as  much  ? ' 

"  '  Truly  I  did.     But  among  princes  such  words  are  but 


AURELIAX  AND  ZENOBIA.  363 

politic  ones.  That  is  well  understood.  Kings  marry  for 
the  state.  I  would  be  higher  matched/  and  the  sensual 
demon  cast  his  eyes  significantly  toward  the  Princess 
Julia. 

"  '  Am  I  understood  ? '  continued  Antiochus,  Aurelian 
making  no  response.  '  The  Princess  Julia  I  would  raise  to 
the  throne. '  The  monster  seemed  to  dilate  to  twice  his 
common  size,  as  his  mind  fed  upon  the  opening  glories. 

"  Aurelian  had  turned  from  him,  looking  first  at  his  Eo- 
man  attendants,  then  to  the  queen  and  Julia,  his  counte 
nance  kindling  with  some  swelling  passion. 

"  '  Do  I  understand  thee  ? '  he  then  said ;  '  I  understand 
thee  to  say  that,  for  the  bestowment  of  the  favours  and 
honours  thou  hast  named,  thou  wilt  do  the  things  thou  hast 
now  specifically  promised.     Is  it  not  so  ? ' 
'  It  is,  gracious  emperor. ' 

"  '  Dost  thou  swear  it  ? ' 

"  '  I  swear  it  by  the  great  God  of  Light. ' 

"  The  countenance  of  the  emperor  now  grew  black  with, 
as  it  seemed,  mingled  fury  and  contempt.  Antiochus 
started,  and  his  cheek  paled.  A  little  light  reached  his 
thick  brain. 

"  '  Romans, '  cried  Aurelian,  '  pardon  me  for  so  abusing 
your  ears ;  and  you,  our  royal  captives.  I  knew  not  that 
such  baseness  lived,  —  still  less  that  it  was  here.  Thou  foul 
stigma  upon  humanity,  why  opens  not  the  earth  under 
thee,  but  that  it  loathes  and  rejects  thee  ?  Is  a  Roman  like 
me,  dost  thou  think,  to  reward  thy  unheard-of  treacheries  ? 
Thou  knowest  no  more  what  a  Roman  is,  than  what  truth 
and  honour  are.  Soldiers !  seize  yonder  miscreant,  write 
traitor  on  his  back,  and  spurn  him  forth  the  camp.  His 
form  and  his  soul  both  offend  alike.  Hence,  monster ! ' 

"  Antiochus  was  like  one  thunderstruck.  Trembling  in 
every  joint,  he  sought  to  appeal  to  the  emperor's  mercy,  but 
the  guard  stopped  his  mouth,  and  dragged  him  from  the 
tent.  His  shrieks  pierced  the  air  as  the  soldiers  scourged 
him  beyond  the  encampment. 

"  '  It  was  not  for  me, '  said  Aurelian,  as  these  ceased  to  be 


364  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

heard,  '  to  refuse  what  fate  threw  into  my  hands.  Though 
I  despised  the  traitorous  informer]  I  could  not  shut  my  ears 
to  the  facts  he  revealed,  without  myself  betraying  the  in 
terests  of  Rome.  But,  believe  me,  it  was  information  I 
would  willingly  have  spared.  My  infamy  were  as  his  to 
have  rewarded  the  traitor.  Fear  not,  queen ;  I  pledge  the 
word  of  a  Roman  and  an  emperor  for  thy  safety.  Thou  art 
safe  both  from  Roman  and  Palmyrene. ' 

"  '  What  I  have  but  now  been  witness  of, '  replied  the 
queen,  '  assures  me  that  in  the  magnanimity  of  Aurelian  I 
may  securely  rest. ' 

"  As  the  queen  uttered  these  words,  a  sound  as  of  a  dis 
tant  tumult,  and  the  uproar  of  a  multitude,  caught  the  ears 
of  all  within  the  tent. 

"  '  What  mean  these  tumultuous  cries  ? '  inquired  Aure 
lian  of  his  attending  guard ;  '  they  increase  and  approach.  * 

"  '  It  may  be  but  the  soldiers  at  their  game  with  Antio- 
chus, '  replied  Probus. 

"  But  it  was  not  so.  At  the  moment  a  centurion,  breath 
less,  and  with  his  head  bare,  rushed  madly  into  the  tent. 

"  '  Speak, '  said  the  emperor,  '  what  is  it  ?  ' 

"  '  The  legions, '  said  the  centurion,  as  soon  as  he  could 
command  his  words,  '  are  advancing,  crying  out  for  the 
Queen  of  Palmyra.  They  have  broken  from  their  camp  and 
their  leaders,  and  in  one  fixed  body  come  to  surround  the 
emperor's  tent. ' 

"  As  he  ended,  the  fierce  cries  of  the  enraged  soldiery 
were  distinctly  heard,  like  the  roaring  of  a  forest  torn  by  a 
tempest.  Aurelian,  baring  his  sword,  and  calling  upon  his 
friends  to  do  the  same,  sprang  toward  the  entrance  of  the 
tent.  They  were  met  by  the  dense  throng  of  the  soldiers, 
who  now  pressed  against  the  tent,  and  whose  savage  yells 
now  could  be  heard. 

"  '  The  head  of  Zenobia ! '  '  Deliver  the  queen  to  our 
will. '  '  Throw  out  the  head  of  Zenobia,  and  we  will  return 
to  our  quarters. '  '  She  belongs  to  us. ' 

"  At  the  same  moment  the  sides  of  the  tent  were  thrown 
up,  showing  the  whole  plain  filled  with  the  heaving  mul- 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  365 

titude,  and  being  itself  instantly  crowded  with  the  ring 
leaders  and  their  more  desperate  associates.  Zenobia,  sup 
porting  the  princess,  who  clung  to  her,  and  pale  through 
a  just  apprehension  of  every  horror,  but  otherwise  firm  and 
undaunted,  cried  out  to  Aurelian,  '  Save  us,  O  emperor,  from 
this  foul  butchery. ' 

"  '  We  will  die  else, '  replied  the  emperor,  who,  with  the 
word,  sprang  upon  a  soldier  making  toward  the  queen,  and 
with  a  blow  clove  him  to  the  earth.  Then  swinging  around 
him  that  sword  which  had  drunk  the  blood  of  thousands, 
and  followed  by  the  gigantic  Sandarion,  by  Probus,  and 
Carus,  a  space  around  the  queen  was  soon  cleared.  '  Back, 
ruffians, '  cried  Aurelian,  in  a  voice  like  thunder,  '  for  you 
are  no  longer  Romans;  back  to  the  borders  of  the  tent. 
There  I  will  hear  your  complaints. '  The  soldiers  fell  back, 
and  their  ferocious  cries  ceased. 

"  '  Now, '  cried  the  emperor,  addressing  them,  '  what  is 
your  will,  that  thus  in  wild  disorder  you  throng  my  tent  ? ' 

"  One  from  the  crowd  replied :  '  Our  will  is  that  the 
Queen  of  Palmyra  be  delivered  to  us  as  our  right,  instantly. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  our  bold  companions  lie  buried 
upon  these  accursed  plains,  slain  by  her  and  her  fiery  en 
gines.  We  demand  her  life.  It  is  but  justice,  and  faint 
justice  too. ' 

"  '  Her  life ! '  '  Her  life ! '  arose  in  one  shout  from  the 
innumerable  throng. 

"  The  emperor  raised  his  hand,  waving  his  sword  drip 
ping  with  the  blood  of  the  slain  soldier;  the  noise  sub 
sided,  and  his  voice,  clear  and  loud,  like  the  tone  of  a 
trumpet,  went  to  the  farthest  bounds  of  the  multitude. 

"  '  Soldiers, '  he  cried,  '  you  ask  for  justice,  and  justice 
you  shall  have. '  ('  Aurelian  is  ever  just, '  cried  many 
voices. )  '  But  you  shall  not  have  the  life  of  the  Queen  of 
Palmyra, '  —  he  paused ;  a  low  murmur  went  through  the 
crowd,  — 'or  you  must  first  take  the  life  of  your  emperor, 
and  of  those  who  are  with  me. '  The  soldiers  were  silent. 
'  In  asking  the  life  of  Zenobia, '  he  continued,  '  you  know 
not  what  you  ask.  Are  any  here  who  went  with  Valerian 


366  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

to  the  Persian  war  ? '  (A  few  voices  responded,  '  I  was 
there, '  '  And  I,  '  '  And  I. ')  '  Are  there  any  here  whose 
parents  or  brothers  or  friends  fell  into  the  tiger  clutches 
of  the  barbarian  Sapor,  and  died  miserably  in  hopeless  cap 
tivity  ? '  (Many  voices  everywhere  throughout  the  crowd 
were  heard  in  reply,  '  Yes,  yes, '  '  Mine  were  there, '  '  And 
mine. ')  '  Did  you  ever  hear  it  said, '  continued  Aurelian, 
'  that  Rome  lifted  a  finger  for  their  rescue,  or  for  that  of  the 
good  Valerian  ? '  (They  were  silent,  some  crying,  'No,  no. ') 
'  Know,  then,  that  when  Kome  forgot  her  brave  soldiers  and 
her  emperor,  Zenobia  remembered  and  avenged  them ;  and 
Rome,  fallen  into  contempt  with  the  Persian,  was  raised  to 
her  ancient  renown  by  the  arms  of  her  ally,  the  brave 
Zenobia,  and  her  dominions  throughout  the  East  saved 
from  the  grasp  of  Sapor  only  by  her  valour.  While  Gal- 
lienus  wallowed  in  sensuality,  and  forgot  Rome,  and  even 
his  own  great  father,  the  Queen  of  Palmyra  stood  forth,  and 
with  her  royal  husband,  the  noble  Odenatus,  was  in  truth 
the  saviour  of  the  empire.  And  is  it  her  life  you  would 
have  ?  Were  that  a  just  return  ?  Were  that  Roman  mag 
nanimity  ?  And  grant  that  thousands  of  your  brave  com 
panions  lie  buried  upon  these  plains ;  it  is  but  the  fortune 
of  war.  Were  they  not  slain  in  honourable  fight,  in  the 
siege  of  a  city  for  its  defence  unequalled  in  the  annals  of 
war  ?  Cannot  Romans  honour  courage  and  military  skill, 
though  in  an  enemy?  But  you  ask  for  justice.  I  have 
said  you  shall  have  justice.  You  shall.  It  is  right  that 
the  heads  and  advisers  of  this  revolt,  for  such  the  senate 
deems  it,  should  be  cut  off.  It  is  the  ministers  of  princes 
who  are  the  true  devisers  of  a  nation's  acts.  These,  when 
in  our  power,  shall  be  yours.  And  now,  who,  soldiers, 
stirred  up  this  mutiny,  bringing  inexplicable  shame  upon 
our  brave  legions  ?  Who  are  the  leaders  of  the  tumult  ? ' 
(Enough  were  found  to  name  them :  '  Firmus  '  '  Carinus, ' 
'  The  centurions  Plancus,  Tatius,  Burrhus,  Valens,  Cris- 
pinus. ')  '  Guards,  seize  them,  and  hew  them  down.  Sol 
diers  !  to  your  tents. '  The  legions  fell  back  as  tumultuously 
as  they  had  come  together, —  the  faster,  as  the  dying  groans 
of  the  slaughtered  ringleaders  fell  upon  their  ears. 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  367 

"  The  tent  of  the  emperor  was  once  more  restored  to  order. 
After  a  brief  conversation,  in  which  Aurelian  expressed  his 
shame  for  the  occurrence  of  such  disorders  in  the  presence 
of  the  queen,  the  guard  were  commanded  to  convey  back 
to  the  palace  of  Seleucus,  whence  they  had  been  taken, 
Zenobia  and  the  princess.  " 

Such  are  the  principal  matters  contained  in  the  com 
munications  of  Nicomachus. 

When  the  facts  contained  in  them  became  known,  the 
senate,  the  council,  the  army,  and  the  people  agreed  in  the 
belief  that  the  queen's  safety  and  their  own  would  now  be 
best  secured  by  an  immediate  capitulation.  Accordingly, 
heralds,  bearing  letters  from  Longinus,  in  the  name  of  the 
council,  proceeded  to  the  Eoman  camp.  No  other  terms 
could  be  obtained  than  a  verbal  promise  that  the  city,  the 
walls,  and  the  common  people  should  be  spared;  but  the 
surrender,  beyond  that,  must  be  unconditional. 

Upon  learning  the  terms  prescribed  by  the  conqueror, 
many  were  for  further  resistance.  "  The  language  of  Aure 
lian,  "  they  said,  "  is  ambiguous.  He  will  spare  the  city, 
walls,  and  common  people.  Are  our  senators  and  coun 
sellors  to  be  sacrificed?  Are  they  who  have  borne  the 
burden  of  the  day  now  to  be  selected  as  the  only  ones  who 
are  to  suffer  ?  It  shall  not  be  so.  " 

Gensrous  sentiments  like  these  were  heard  on  all  sides. 
But  they  were  answered  and  overcome,  by  Gracchus  espe 
cially,  and  others.  Said  Gracchus  to  the  people,  "  Doubt 
less  punishment  will  be  inflicted  by  Rome  upon  some.  Our 
resistance  is  termed  by  her  rebellion,  revolt,  conspiracy ; 
the  leaders  will  be  sought  and  punished.  It  is  ever  her 
course.  But  this  is  a  light  evil  compared  with  a  wide 
spread  massacre  of  this  whole  population,  the  destruction 
of  these  famous  temples,  the  levelling  of  these  proud  walls. 
Aurelian  has  said  that  these  shall  be  spared.  His  word, 
though  an  unwritten  and  informal  one,  may  be  trusted.  My 
counsel  is,  that  it  be  at  once  accepted.  What  if  a  few  grey 
heads  among  us  are  taken  off?  That  will  not  touch  the 
existence  or  prosperity  of  Palmyra.  You  can  spare  them. 


368          ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALM YK A. 

Your  children  will  soon  grow  up  to  take  our  places,  and  fill 
them,  as  I  hope,  with  more  wisdom. " 

But  such  words  only  served  at  first  the  more  to  strengthen 
the  people  in  their  resolution  that  their  rulers  should  not 
be  the  only  sacrifice.  None  were  loved  throughout  the  city 
more  than  Gracchus  and  Otho,  none  revered  like  Longinus. 
It  was  a  long  and  painful  struggle  between  affection  and  the 
convictions  of  reason  before  it  ended,  and  the  consent  of  the 
people  was  obtained  to  deliver  up  the  city  to  the  mercy  of 
Aurelian.  But  it  was  obtained. 

I  was  sitting  with  Fausta  and  Calpurnius,  speaking  of 
the  things  that  had  happened,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the 
queen,  when  Gracchus  entered  and  joined  us,  informing  us 
that  "  ambassadors  were  now  gone  to  the  camp  of  Aurelian, 
clothed  with  authority  to  deliver  up  the  city  into  his 
hands.  So  that  now  the  end  has  drawn  on,  and  Palmyra 
ceases  to  exist. " 

Fausta,  although  knowing  that  this  must  happen,  and 
might  at  any  moment,  could  not  hear  the  fatal  words 
aunouncing  the  death  of  her  country,  as  she  deemed  it,  and 
quenching  forever  in  darkness  tlie  bright  dreams  upon 
which  she  had  fed  so  long,  without  renewed  grief.  We 
were  a  long  time  silent. 

"  Something  yet  remains, "  at  length  Gracchus  resumed, 
"  for  us  to  resolve  upon  and  do.  Before  many  hours  have 
elapsed,  a  Roman  army  will  fill  the  streets  of  the  city  — 
perhaps  our  houses  also  —  and  a  general  plunder  may  be 
commenced  of  all  the  valuables  we  possess.  It  will  be  use 
less  to  conceal  what  it  will  be  well  enough  known,  from  the 
manner  in  which  we  live,  must  be  beneath  our  roof.  It 
will  but  expose  our  lives.  Yet,  Fausta,  your  jewels,  valued 
by  you  as  gifts,  and  other  things  precious  for  the  same  or 
a  like  reason,  may  easily  be  secreted,  nor  yet  be  missed  by 
the  licensed  robbers.  See  to  this,  my  child;  but  except 
this,  there  is  now  nought  to  do  concerning  such  affairs  but 
to  sit  still,  and  observe  the  general  wreck.  But  there  are 
other  and  weightier  matters  to  be  decided  upon,  and  that 
At  once. " 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  369 

"  Concerning  the  care  of  ourselves,  you  mean, "  said 
Fausta. 

"  I  do, "  replied  Gracchus. 

"  I, "  said  Fausta,  "  would  remain  here,  where  I  am. " 

"  It  is  that  which  I  wish, "  replied  her  father ;  "  I  com 
mit  you  to  the  care  of  Lucius.  For  Calpurnius,  he  must 
leave  you,  and  as  he  would  live,  fly,  if  that  yet  be  possible, 
beyond  the  walls,  or  conceal  himself  within  them.  " 

"  Never, "  said  Calpurnius ;  "  I  can  do  neither.  I  have 
never  shunned  a  danger,  and  I  cannot.  " 

"  Let  pride  and  passion,  now, "  said  Gracchus,  "  go  fast 
asleep.  We  have  no  occasion  for  them;  they  are  out  of 
place,  dealing  as  we  now  do  with  stern  necessities.  Your 
life  will  be  especially  sought  by  Aurelian ;  it  is  a  life  that 
cannot  be  spared.  Fausta  needs  you.  In  you  she  must  find, 
or  nowhere,  father,  husband,  friend.  Lucius,  when  these 
troubles  are  over,  will  return  to  Eome,  and  I  —  shall  be  in 
the  keeping  of  Aurelian.  You  must  live,  —  for  her  sake, 
if  not  for  your  own.  " 

"  For  mine  too,  surely,  if  for  hers, "  replied  Calpurnius. 

"  Father, "  said  Fausta,  throwing  her  arms  around  him, 
"  why,  why  must  you  fall  into  the  hands  of  Aurelian  ?  Why 
not,  with  Calpurnius,  fly  from  these  now  hated  walls  ?  " 

"  My  daughter !  "  replied  Gracchus,  "  let  not  your  love  of 
me  make  you  forgetful  of  what  I  owe  my  own  name  and  our 
country's.  Am  I  not  bound  by  the  words  of  Aurelian? 
He  will  spare  the  city  and  the  common  people,  reserving 
for  himself  their  rulers  and  advisers.  Were  they  all  to  fly 
or  shrink  into  concealment,  can  we  doubt  that  the  fury  of 
the  fierce  Eoman  would  then  discharge  itself  upon  the  help 
less  people,  and  men,  women,  and  children  suffer  in  our 
stead?  And  shall  I  fly  while  the  rest  are  true  to  their 
trust  ? " 

"  The  gods  forbid !  "  sobbed  Fausta. 

"  Now  you  are  yourself  again.  Life  is  of  little  account 
with  me.  For  you  I  would  willingly  hold  on  upon  it, 
though  in  any  event  my  grasp  will  be  rapidly  growing 
weaker  and  weaker ;  age  would  come  and  weaken  it  But 


870  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

for  myself  I  can  truly  say,  I  survey  the  prospect  of  death 
with  indifference.  Life  is  one  step ;  death  is  another.  I 
have  taken  the  first;  I  am  as  ready  to  take  the  second. 
But  to  preserve  life,  agreeable  as  I  have  found  it,  by  any 
sacrifice —  " 

"  Oh,  that  were  dying  twice, "  said  Fausta ;  "  I  know  it.  " 

"  Be  thankful,  then,  that  I  shall  die  but  once,  and  so  dry 
your  tears.  Of  nothing  am  I  more  clear,  than  that,  if  the 
loss  of  my  head  will  bring  security  to  the  city  and  the 
people,  I  can  offer  it  to  the  executioner  with  scarce  a  single 
regret.  But  let  us  leave  this.  But  few  hours  remain  to  do 
what  is  yet  to  be  done.  " 

It  was  so  indeed.  Already  the  commotion  in  the  streets 
indicated  that  the  entrance  of  the  Roman  army  was  each 
moment  expected. 

It  was  determined  that  Calpurnius  should  avail  himself 
of  the  old  conduit,  and  fly  beyond  the  walls.  To  this  he 
consented,  though  with  pain,  and  bidding  us  farewell, 
departed.  Fausta  retired  to  fulfil  the  injunctions  of  her 
father;  while  Gracchus  employed  himself  in  arranging  a 
few  papers  to  be  intrusted  to  my  keeping. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  gates  of  the  city  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  army  of  the  conqueror  made  its  un 
obstructed  entrance.  Soon  as  the  walls  were  secured,  the 
towers  of  the  gates,  and  the  arms  of  the  queen's  remaining 
forces,  Aurelian  himself  approached,  and  by  the  Roman 
gate  passed  into  a  city  that  had  cost  him  so  dear  to  gain. 
He  rode  through  its  principal  streets  and  squares,  gazing 
with  admiration  at  the  magnificence  which  everywhere  met 
his  view.  As  he  arrived  at  the  far-famed  Temple  of  the 
Sun,  and  was  told  to  what  deity  it  was  dedicated,  he  bared 
his  head,  flung  himself  from  his  horse,  and  on  foot,  followed 
by  an  innumerable  company  of  Romans,  ascended  its  long 
flight  of  steps,  and  then,  within  its  walls,  returned  solemn 
thanks  to  the  great  God  of  Light,  the  protecting  deity  of  his 
house,  for  the  success  that  had  crowned  his  arms. 

When  this  act  of  worship  had  been  performed,  and  votive 
offerings  had  been  hung  upon  the  columns  of  the  temple,  the 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  371 

emperor  came  forth,  and,  after  visiting  and  inspecting  all 
that  was  beautiful  and  rare,  made  proclamation  of  his  will 
concerning  the  city  and  its  inhabitants.  This  was,  that 
all  gold  and  silver,  precious  stones,  all  pictures,  statues, 
and  other  works  of  art,  were  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Komans ;  and  that  all  the  members  of  the  queen's  senate 
and  council,  with  the  nobility,  were  to  be  delivered  up  as 
prisoners  of  war,  —  together  with  certain  specified  portions 
of  the  army.  Beyond  these  requisitions,  the  persons  and 
property  of  the  citizens  were  to  be  respected.  No  violence 
of  any  kind  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers  would  be  allowed, 
or  pardoned  if  committed. 

Immediately  upon  this,  the  Koman  army  was  converted 
into  a  body  of  labourers  and  artisans,  employed  in  the  con 
struction  of  wains  of  every  form  and  size,  for  the  transpor 
tation  across  the  desert  to  the  sea-coast  of  whatever  would 
adorn  the  triumph  of  Aurelian,  or  add  to  the  riches  of  the 
great  capital  of  the  world.  Vast  numbers  of  elephants  and 
camels  were  collected  from  the  city,  and  from  all  the  neigh 
bouring  territory,  with  which  to  drag  the  huge  and  heavy- 
loaded  wagons  through  the  deep  sands  and  over  the  rough 
and  rocky  plains  of  Syria.  The  palaces  of  the  nobles  and 
the  wealthy  merchants  have  been  stripped  of  every  embel 
lishment  of  art  and  taste.  The  private  and  public  gardens, 
the  fountains,  the  porticos,  have  each  and  all  been  robbed 
of  every  work,  in  either  marble  or  brass,  which  had  the 
misfortune  or  the  merit  to  have  been  wrought  by  artists  of 
distinguished  names.  The  palaces  of  the  queen  and  of 
Longinus  were  objects  of  especial  curiosity  and  desire,  and, 
as  it  were,  their  entire  contents,  after  being  secured  with 
utmost  art  from  possibility  of  injury,  have  been  piled 
upon  carriages  prepared  for  them,  ready  for  their  journey 
toward  Eome.  It  was  pitiful  to  look  on  and  see  this  wide 
desolation  of  scenes  that  so  little  while  ago  had  offered  to 
the  eye  all  that  the  most  cultivated  taste  could  have  re 
quired  for  its  gratification.  The  citizens  stood  around  in 
groups,  silent  witnesses  of  the  departing  glories  of  then 
city  and  nation. 


372  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

But  the  sight  saddest  of  all  to  behold  was  that  of  the 
senators  and  counsellors  of  Palmyra,  led  guarded  from  the 
city  to  the  camp  of  Aurelian.  All  along  the  streets  through 
which  they  passed,  the  people  stood  in  dumb  and  motion 
less  array,  to  testify  in  that  expressive  manner  their  affec 
tion  and  their  grief.  Voices  were,  indeed,  occasionally 
heard  invoking  the  blessings  of  the  gods  upon  them,  or 
imprecating  curses  upon  the  head  of  the  scourge,  Aurelian. 
Whenever  Longinus  and  Gracchus  appeared,  their  names 
were  uttered  in  the  tones  with  which  children  would  cry 
out  to  venerated  parents  whom  they  beheld  for  the  last 
time,  — beheld  borne  away  from  them  by  a  power  they  could 
not  resist,  to  captivity  or  death.  No  fear  of  the  legion 
that  surrounded  them  availed  to  repress  or  silence  such 
testimonies  of  regard.  And  if  confidence  was  reposed  in 
the  Roman  soldiery  that  they  would  not,  because  con 
querors,  and  the  power  was  theirs,  churlishly  deny  them 
the  freedom  to  relieve  in  that  manner  their  overburdened 
hearts,  it  was  not  —  happy  was  I,  as  a  Roman,  to  witness 
it  —  misplaced.  They  resented  it  not,  either  by  word  or 
look  or  act,  but  moved  on  like  so  many  statues  in  mail, 
turning  neither  to  the  one  hand  nor  the  other,  nor  appar 
ently  so  much  as  hearing  the  reproaches  which  were  by 
some  lavished  upon  them  and  their  emperor. 

Livia,  Faustula,  and  the  other  inmates  of  the  palace 
have  joined  Zenobia  and  Julia,  by  order  of  Aurelian,  at  the 
house  of  Seleucus.  The  Caesars  Herennianus  and  Timo- 
laus  have  fled  or  concealed  themselves;  Vabalathus  has 
surrendered  himself,  and  has  accompanied  the  princesses  to 
the  Roman  camp. 

How  desolate  is  the  house  of  Gracchus,  deprived  of  its 
princely  head !  —  especially  as  the  mind  cannot  help  run 
ning  forward  and  conjecturing  the  fate  which  awaits  him. 
Fausta  surrenders  herself  to  her  grief.  Loss  of  country  and 
of  parent,  at  one  and  the  same  moment,  is  loss  too  great  for 
her  to  bear  with  fortitude.  Her  spirit,  so  alive  to  affection 
and  every  generous  sentiment,  is  almost  broken  by  these 
sorrows  and  disappointments.  I  did  not  witness  the  parting 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  373 

between  her  and  Gracchus,  and  happy  am  I  that  I  did  not. 
Her  agony  was  in  proportion  to  her  love  and  her  sensibility. 
I  have  not  met  her  since.  She  remains  within  her  own 
apartments,  seen  only  by  her  favourite  slaves.  A  double 
darkness  spreads  around  while  Fausta  too  is  withdrawn. 

It  appears  to  me  now,  my  Curtius,  as  if  something  might 
be  done  on  my  part  in  behalf  of  Gracchus.  According  to 
the  usages  of  Rome,  the  chief  persons  among  the  prisoners, 
and  who  might  be  considered  as  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion, 
I  knew  would  die  either  at  once,  or  at  farthest,  when  Aure- 
lian  should  re-enter  Rome  as  the  conqueror  of  the  East.  I 
considered  that  by  reason  of  the  growing  severity  of  the 
emperor  toward  all,  friends  as  well  as  foes, —  amounting,  as 
many  now  deem,  to  cruelty,  —  the  danger  to  Gracchus  was 
extreme,  beyond  any  power  perhaps  to  avert.  Yet  I  re 
membered,  at  the  same  time,  the  generous  traits  in  Aure 
lian 's  character,  his  attachment  toward  old  friends,  his 
gratitude  for  services  rendered  him  in  the  early  part  of  his 
life,  while  making  his  way  up  through  the  lower  posts  of 
the  army.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  was  open  to  solicita 
tion  ;  that  he  would  not  refuse  to  hear  me,  —  a  friend,  and 
son  of  Cneius  Piso,  —  with  what  object  soever  I  might  pre 
sent  myself  before  him ;  and  that,  consequently,  there  was 
from  this  quarter  a  ray  of  hope,  however  small,  for  the 
father  of  our  beloved  Fausta. 

Accordingly,  so  soon  as  the  affairs  at  first  calling  for  the 
entire  devotion  of  Aurelian  were  through,  and  I  knew  that 
his  leisure  would  allow  of  an  interruption,  I  sought  the 
Roman  camp,  and  asked  an  audience  of  the  emperor.  It 
was  immediately  granted. 

As  I  entered  his  tent,  Aurelian  was  seated  at  a  table, 
holding  in  his  hand  a  parchment  scroll  which  he  seemed 
intently  considering.  His  stern  countenance  lowered  over 
it  like  a  thunder-cloud.  I  stood  there  where  I  had  entered 
a  few  moments,  before  he  seemed  aware  of  the  presence  of 
any  one.  His  eye  then  falling  almost  accidentally  upon 
me,  he  suddenly  rose,  and  with  the  manner  of  his  ancient 
friendship,  warmly  greeted  me. 


374  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  I  am  glad, "  said  he,  "  to  meet  so  true  a  Koman  in  these 
distant  parts. " 

"  I  am  still  a  true  Eoman, "  I  replied,  "  notwithstanding 
I  have  been,  during  this  siege,  upon  the  side  of  the  enemy.  " 

"  I  doubt  it  not.  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  causes  that 
led  you  to  Palmyra,  and  have  detained  you  there.  Hence 
forward  your  Koman  blood  must  be  held  of  the  purest,  for 
as  I  learn,  and  since  I  have  seen  can  believe,  they  are  few 
who  have  come  within  the  magic  circle  of  the  late  queen, 
who  have  not  lost  their  name  and  freedom,  themselves 
fastening  on  the  chains  of  her  service. " 

"  You  have  heard  truly.  Her  court  and  camp  are  filled 
with  those  who  at  first,  perhaps,  sought  her  capital  as  visi 
tors,  for  curiosity  or  traffic,  but  being  once  within  the 
marvellous  influence  of  her  presence,  have  remained  there 
her  friends  or  servants.  She  is  irresistible. " 

"  And  well  nigh  so  in  war  too.  In  Kome  they  make 
themselves  merry  at  my  expense,  inasmuch  as  I  have  been 
warring  thus  with  a  woman ;  not  a  poet  in  the  garrets  of 
the  Via  Cceli  but  has  entertained  the  city  with  his  couplets 
upon  the  invincible  Aurelian,  beset  here  in  the  East  by  an 
army  of  women,  who  seem  likely  to  subdue  him  by  their 
needles  or  their  charms.  Nay,  the  senate  looks  on  and 
laughs.  By  the  immortal  gods!  they  know  not  of  what 
they  speak.  Julius  Caesar  himself,  Piso,  never  displayed 
a  better  genius  than  this  woman.  Twice  have  I  saved  my 
army  but  by  stratagem.  I  give  the  honour  of  those  days  to 
Zenobia;  it  belongs  to  her  rather  than  to  me.  Palmyra 
may  well  boast  of  Antioch  and  Emesa.  Your  brother  did 
her  good  service  there ;  I  trust  for  your  sake  and  for  mine, 
he  will  not  fall  into  my  hands. " 

That  dark  and  cruel  frown  which  marks  Aurelian  grew 
above  and  around  his  eyes. 

"  I  never, "  he  continued,  "  forgive  a  traitor  to  his  country.  " 

"  Yet, "  I  ventured  to  say,  "  surely  the  circumstances  of 
his  captivity,  and  long  abandonment,  may  plead  somewhat 
in  extenuation  of  his  fault.  " 

"  Never.     His  crime  is  beyond  the  reach  of  pardon. " 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  375 

Aurelian  had  evidently  supposed  that  I  came  to  seek 
favour  for  Calpurnius.  But  this  I  had  not  intended  to  do, 
as  Calpurnius  had  long  ago  resolved  never  again  to  dwell 
within  the  walls  of  Eome.  I  then  opened  the  subject  of 
my  visit. 

"  I  have  come, "  I  said,  "  not  to  seek  the  pardon  of  Cal 
purnius  Piso.  Such,  to  my  grief,  is  his  hostility  toward 
Kome  that  he  would  neither  seek  nor  accept  mercy  at  her 
hands.  He  has  forsworn  his  country,  and  never  willingly 
will  set  foot  within  her  borders.  He  dwells  henceforward 
in  Asia.  But  there  is  another  —  " 

"  You  would  speak  of  Gracchus.  It  cannot  be.  Lon- 
ginus  excepted,  he  is  the  first  citizen  of  Palmyra.  If  the 
queen  be  spared,  these  must  suffer.  It  is  due  to  the  army 
and  to  justice  and  to  vengeance.  The  soldiers  have  clam 
oured  for  the  blood  of  Zenobia,  and  it  has  been  at  no  small 
cost  that  hers  and  her  daughter's  life  have  been  redeemed. 
But  I  have  sworn  it,  they  shall  live ;  my  blood  shall  flow 
before  theirs.  Zenobia  has  done  more  for  Eome  than  many 
an  emperor.  Besides,  I  would  that  Kome  should  see  with 
her  own  eyes  who  it  is  has  held  even  battle  with  Koman 
legions  so  long,  that  they  may  judge  me  to  have  had  a 
worthy  antagonist.  She  must  grace  my  triumph.  " 

"  I  truly  thank  the  gods, "  I  said,  "  that  it  is  so  resolved. 
Fortune  has  placed  me,  while  in  her  dominions,  near  the 
queen,  and  though  a  Koinan,  I  have  come  to  love  and  revere 
her  even  like  a  Palmyrene.  Would  that  the  like  clemency 
might  be  shown  toward  Gracchus !  There  is  no  greatness 
like  mercy. " 

"  I  may  not,  noble  Piso,  win  glory  to  myself  at  the  cost 
of  Kome.  On  the  field  of  battle  I  and  Rome  win  together. 
In  pardoning  her  enemies  fallen  into  my  power,  I  may  in 
deed  crown  myself  with  the  praise  of  magnanimity  in  the 
eye  of  the  world,  while,  by  the  same  act,  I  wound  my 
country.  No  rebellion  is  quelled  till  the  heads  that 
moved  and  guided  it  are  off  —  off.  Who  is  ignorant  that 
Longinus,  that  subtle  Greek,  has  been  the  master-spring  in 
this  great  revolt,  and  hand  in  hand  with  him,  Gracchus  \ 


876  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Well  should  I  deserve  the  gibes  and  sneers  of  the  Roman 
mob,  if  I  turned  my  back  upon  the  great  work  I  have 
achieved,  leaving  behind  me  spirits  like  these  to  brew  fresh 
trouble.  Nor,  holding  to  this  as  it  may  seem  to  you  harsh 
decision,  am  I  forgetful,  Piso,  of  our  former  friendship, 
nor  of  the  helping  hand  often  stretched  out  to  do  me  ser 
vice,  of  Cneius  Piso,  your  great  parent.  I  must  trust  in 
this  to  your  generosity  or  justice  to  construe  me  aright. 
Fidelity  to  Rome  must  come  before  private  friendship  or 
even  gratitude.  Am  I  understood  ?  " 

"  I  think  so.  " 

"  Neither  must  you  speak  to  me  of  Longinus,  the  learned 
Greek,  the  accomplished  scholar,  the  great  philosopher. 
He  has  thrown  aside  the  scholar  and  the  philosopher  in 
putting  on  the  minister.  He  is  to  me  known  only  as  the 
queen's  chief  adviser,  Palmyra's  strength,  the  enemy  of 
Rome.  As  such  he  has  been  arrayed  against  me ;  as  such 
he  has  fallen  a  prisoner  into  my  hands ;  as  such  he  must 
feel  the  sword  of  the  Roman  executioner.  Gracchus  —  I 
would  willingly,  for  thy  sake,  Piso,  spare  him,  —  the  more, 
as  I  hear  thou  art  betrothed  to  his  far-famed  daughter, 
she  who  upon  the  fields  of  Antioch  and  Emesa  filled  with 
amazement  even  Roman  soldiers.  " 

To  say  that  instead  of  me  it  was  Calpurnius  to  whom  she 
was  betrothed,  would  seem  to  have  sealed  the  fate  of  Grac 
chus  at  the  moment  there  was  a  gleam  of  hope.  I  only  said, 
"  She  was  the  life  of  the  queen's  army.  She  falls  but  little 
below  her  great  mistress.  " 

"  I  believe  it.  These  women  of  Palmyra  are  the  true 
wonder  of  the  age.  When,  for  the  first  time,  I  found  my 
self  before  Zenobia  and  her  daughter,  it  is  no  shame  for  me 
to  confess  that  it  was  hard  for  the  moment  to  believe  myself 
Aurelian  and  conqueror.  I  was  ready  to  play  the  subject ; 
I  scarce  kept  myself  from  an  Oriental  prostration.  Never, 
Piso,  was  such  beauty  seen  in  Rome.  Rome  now  has  an 
empress  worthy  of  her ;  unless  a  Roman  emperor  may  sue 
in  vain.  Think  you  not  with  me?  You  have  seen  the 
Princess  Julia  ? " 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  377 

You  can  pity  me,  Curtius  and  Lucilia.  I  said  only,  "  I 
have.  Her  beauty  is  rare,  indeed,  but  by  many,  nay  by 
most,  her  sister,  the  Princess  Livia,  is  esteemed  before 
her. " 

"  Ha !  Nay,  but  that  cannot  be.  The  world  itself  holds 
not  another  like  the  elder  princess,  much  less  the  same 
household.  "  He  seemed  as  if  he  would  have  added  more, 
but  his  eye  fell  upon  the  scroll  before  him,  and  it  changed 
the  current  of  his  thoughts  and  the  expression  of  his  coun 
tenance,  which  again  grew  dark  as  when  I  first  entered  the 
tent.  He  muttered  over,  as  to  himself,  the  names  of 
"  Gracchus, "  "  Fausta, "  "  the  very  life  of  their  cause, "  "  the 
people's  chief  trust,"  and  other  broken  sentences  of  the 
same  kind.  He  then  suddenly  recommenced. 

"  Piso,  I  know  not  that  even  I  have  power  to  grant  thy 
suit.  I  have  saved,  with  some  hazard,  the  life  of  the  queen 
and  her  daughter ;  in  doing  it  I  promised  to  the  soldiers,  in 
their  place,  the  best  blood  of  Palmyra,  and  theirs  it  is  by 
right.  It  will  not  be  easy  to  wrest  Gracchus  from  their 
hands.  It  will  bring  danger  to  myself,  to  the  queen,  and 
to  the  empire.  It  may  breed  a  fatal  revolt.  But,  Piso,  for 
the  noble  Portia's  sake,  the  living  representative  of  Cneius 
Piso,  my  early  friend ;  for  thine ;  and  chiefly  for  the  reason 
that  thou  art  affianced  to  the  warlike  daughter  of  the 
princely  Palmyrene  —  " 

"  Great  prince, "  said  I,  for  it  was  now  my  turn  to  speak, 
"  pardon  me  that  I  break  in  upon  your  speech ;  but  I  cannot 
by  a  deception,  however  slight  and  unintentional,  purchase 
the  life  even  of  a  friend. " 

"  To  what  does  this  tend  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  I  who  am  affianced  to  the  daughter  of  Grac 
chus,  but  Calpurnius  Piso,  my  brother,  and  the  enemy  of 
Eome.  If  my  hope  for  Gracchus  rests  but  where  you  have 
placed  it,  it  must  be  renounced.  Humour  has  dealt  falsely 
with  you. " 

"  I  am  sorry  for  it  You  know  me,  Piso,  well  enough  to 
believe  me,  —  I  am  sorry  for  it.  That  plea  would  have 
availed  me  more  than  any.  Yet  it  is  right  that  he  should 


378  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

die.  It  is  the  custom  of  war.  The  legions  clamour  for 
his  death ;  it  has  been  promised ;  it  is  due  to  justice  and 
revenge.  Piso,  he  must  die.  " 

I,  however,  did  not  cease  to  importune.  As  Aurelian 
had  spoken  of  Portia,  I  too  spoke  of  her,  and  refrained  not 
from  bringing  freshly  before  his  memory  the  characters  of 
both  my  parents,  and  especially  the  services  of  my  father. 
The  emperor  was  no  ways  displeased ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
as  I  recurred  to  the  early  periods  of  his  career,  when  he  was 
a  centurion  in  Germany,  under  tutelage  to  the  experienced 
Cneius  Piso,  he  himself  took  up  the  story,  and  detained  me 
long  with  the  history  of  his  life  and  actions,  while  serving 
with  and  under  my  father,  and  then,  afterwards,  when  in 
Gaul,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  East.  Much  curious  narrative, 
the  proper  source  of  history,  I  heard  from  the  great  actor 
himself,  during  this  long  interview.  It  was  terminated  by 
the  entrance  of  Sandarion,  upon  pressing  business  with  the 
emperor,  whereupon  I  withdrew,  Gracchus  not  being  again 
named,  but  leaving  his  fate  in  the  hands  of  the  master  of 
the  world,  and  yet  —  how  often  has  it  been  so  with  our 
emperors !  —  the  slave  of  his  own  soldiers.  I  returned  to 
the  city. 

The  following  day  I  again  saw  Fausta,  now  pale,  mel 
ancholy,  and  silent.  I  told  her  of  my  interview  with 
Aurelian,  and  of  its  doubtful  issue.  She  listened  to  me 
with  a  painful  interest,  as  if  wishing  a  favourable  result, 
yet  not  daring  to  hope. 

When  I  had  ended,  she  said,  "  You  have  done  all,  Lucius, 
that  can  be  done,  yet  it  avails  little  or  nothing.  Would 
that  Aurelian  had  thought  women  worthy  his  regard  so 
much  as  to  have  made  me  a  prisoner  too.  I  can  now  feel 
how  little  one  may  fear  death,  dying  in  a  certain  cause. 
Palmyra  is  now  dead,  and  I  care  no  more  for  life.  And  if 
Gracchus  is  to  die  too,  how  much  rather  would  I  die  with 
him,  than  live  without  him.  And  this  is  not,  as  it  may 
seem,  infidelity  to  Calpurnius.  I  love  him  better  than  I 
ever  thought  to  have  loved  anything  beside  Palmyra  and 
Gracchus.  But  my  love  for  these  is  from  my  infancy,  and 


AURELIAN  AND  ZENOBIA.  379 

is  in  reason  stronger  than  the  other.  The  gods  make  it  so, 
not  I.  I  love  Calpurnius  with  all  that  is  left.  When  does 
the  army  depart  ?  " 

"  To-morrow,  as  I  learn.  I  shall  follow  it  to  Emesa,  for 
it  is  there,  so  it  is  reported,  that  the  fate  of  the  prisoners 
will  be  decided. " 

"  Do  so,  Lucius,  and  by  bribery,  cunning,  or  force,  find 
your  way  to  the  presence  of  Gracchus.  Be  not  denied. 
Tell  him  —  but  no,  you  know  what  I  would  say,  I  cannot ;  " 
and  a  passionate  flood  of  tears  came  to  her  relief. 

The  preparations  of  the  army  are  now  completed.  The 
city  has  been  drained  of  its  wealth  and  its  embellishments. 
Scarce  anything  is  left  but  the  walls  and  buildings,  which 
are  uninjured,  the  lives  and  the  industry  of  the  inhabitants. 
Sandarion  is  made  governor  of  the  city  and  province,  with, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  a  very  incompetent  force  to  support  his 
authority.  Yet  the  citizens  are,  as  they  have  been  since 
the  day  the  contest  was  decided,  perfectly  peaceable, —  nay, 
I  rather  should  say,  stupid  and  lethargic.  There  appears 
to  be,  on  the  part  of  Aurelian,  no  apprehensions  of  future 
disturbance. 

I  have  stood  upon  the  walls  and  watched  till  the  last  of 
the  Komans  has  disappeared  beyond  the  horizon.  Two  days 
have  been  spent  in  getting  into  motion,  and  beyond  the 
precincts  of  the  city  and  suburbs,  the  army  with  its  innu 
merable  wagons,  its  long  trains  of  elephants  and  camels 
and  horses.  Not  only  Palmyra,  but  the  whole  East,  seems 
to  have  taken  its  departure  for  the  Mediterranean.  For  the 
carriages  were  hardly  to  be  numbered  which  have  borne 
away  for  the  Eoman  amphitheatres  wild  animals  of  every 
kind,  collected  from  every  part  of  Asia,  together  with 
innumerable  objects  of  curiosity  and  works  of  art 


380  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTEK  XVL 

THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS. 

THE  CAPTIVES.  —  LONGINUS.  —  THE   LAST   MOMENTS  OP  A  PHI 
LOSOPHER.  —  DEATH.  —  PARDON.  —  SORROW. 

T  WRITE  to  you,  Curtius,  as  from  my  last  you  were  doubt- 
J.  less  led  to  expect,  from  Eniesa,  —  a  Syrian  town  of  some 
consequence,  filled  now  to  overflowing  with  the  Roman 
army.  Here  Aurelian  reposes  for  a  while,  after  the  fatigues 
of  the  march  across  the  desert,  and  here  justice  is  to  be 
inflicted  upon  the  leaders  of  the  late  revolt,  as  by  Rome  it 
is  termed. 

The  prisons  are  crowded  with  the  great  and  noble  and 
good  of  Palmyra.  All  those  with  whom  I  have  for  the  last 
few  months  mingled  so  much,  whose  hospitality  I  have 
shared,  whose  taste,  accomplishments,  and  elegant  displays 
of  wealth  I  have  admired,  are  now  here  immured  in  dun 
geons,  and 'awaiting  that  death  which  their  virtues,  not 
their  vices  or  their  crimes,  have  drawn  upon  them.  For  I 
suppose  it  will  be  agreed,  that  if  ever  mankind  do  that 
which  claims  the  name  and  rank  of  virtue,  it  is  when  they 
freely  offer  up  their  lives  for  their  country,  and  for  a  cause 
which,  whatever  may  be  their  misjudgment  in  the  case, 
they  believe  to  be  the  cause  of  liberty.  Man  is  then  greater 
in  his  disinterestedness,  in  the  spirit  with  which  he  re 
nounces  himself,  and  offers  his  neck  to  the  axe  of  the  exe 
cutioner,  than  he  can  be  clothed  in  any  robe  of  honour,  or 
sitting  upon  any  throne  of  power.  Which  is  greater  in  the 
present  instance,  Longinus,  Gracchus,  Otho, —  or  Aurelian, 
I  cannot  doubt  for  a  moment;  although  I  fear  that  you, 
Curtius,  were  I  to  declare  my  opinion,  would  hardly  agree 
with  me.  Strange  that  such  a  sacrifice  as  this,  which  is 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  381 

about  to  be  made,  can  be  thought  to  be  necessary!  It  is 
not  necessary ;  nor  can  Aurelian  himself  in  his  heart  deem 
it  so.  It  is  a  peace-offering  to  the  blood-thirsty  legions, 
who,  well  do  I  know  it,  —  for  I  have  been  of  them,  —  love 
no  sight  so  well  as  the  dying  throes  of  an  enemy.  It  is, 
I  am  told,  with  an  impatience  hardly  to  be  restrained  within 
the  bounds  of  discipline,  that  they  wait  for  the  moment 
when  their  eyes  shall  be  feasted  with  the  flowing  blood  and 
headless  trunks  of  the  brave  defenders  of  Palmyra.  I  see 
that  this  is  so,  whenever  I  pass  by  a  group  of  soldiers,  or 
through  the  camp.  Their  conversation  seems  to  turn  upon 
nothing  else  than  the  vengeance  due  to  them  upon  those 
who  have  thinned  their  ranks  of  one-half  their  numbers, 
and  who,  themselves  shielded  by  their  walls,  looked  on  and 
beheld  in  security  the  slaughter  which  they  made.  They 
cry  out  for  the  blood  of  every  Palmyrene  brought  across  the 
desert.  My  hope  for  Gracchus  is  small.  Not  more,  how 
ever,  because  of  this  clamour  of  the  legions,  than  on  account 
of  the  stern  and  almost  cruel  nature  of  Aurelian  himself. 
He  is  himself  a  soldier;  he  is  one  of  the  legions.  His 
sympathies  are  with  them,  one  of  whom  he  so  long  has 
been,  and  from  whom  he  sprang.  The  gratifications  which 
he  remembers  himself  so  often  to  have  sought,  and  so  dearly 
to  have  prized,  he  is  willing  to  bestow  upon  those  who  he 
knows  feel  as  he  once  did.  He  may  speak  of  his  want  of 
power  to  resist  the  will  of  the  soldiers ;  but  I  almost  doubt 
his  sincerity,  since  nothing  can  equal  the  terror  and  rever 
ence  with  which  he  is  regarded  throughout  the  army,  — 
reverence  for  his  genius ;  terror  for  his  passions,  which, 
when  excited,  rage  with  the  fury  of  a  madman,  and  wreak 
themselves  upon  all  upon  whom  the  least  suspicion  falls, 
though  among  his  most  trusted  friends.  To  this  terror,  as 
you  well  know,  his  bodily  strength  greatly  adds. 

It  was  my  first  office  to  seek  the  presence  of  Gracchus. 
I  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  both  he  and  Longinus  were 
confined  in  the  same  prison,  and  in  charge  of  the  same 
keeper.  I  did  not  believe  that  I  should  experience  diffi 
culty  in  gaining  admission  to  them,  and  I  found  it  so. 


382  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Applying  to  the  gaoler  for  admittance  to  Gracchus  the 
Palmyrene,  I  was  told  that  but  few  were  allowed  to  see  him ; 
and  such  only  whose  names  had  been  given  him.  Upon 
giving  him  my  name,  he  said  that  it  was  one  which  was 
upon  his  list,  and  I  might  enter.  "  Make  the  most  of  your 
time, "  he  added,  "  for  to-morrow  is  the  day  set  for  the 
general  execution. " 

"  So  soon  ?  "  I  said. 

"  Ay, "  he  replied,  "  and  that  is  scarce  soon  enough  to 
keep  the  soldiers  quiet.  Since  they  have  lost  the  queen, 
they  are  suspicious  lest  the  others,  or  some  of  them,  may 
escape  too, —  so  that  they  are  well  guarded,  I  warrant  you.  " 

"  Is  the  queen, "  I  asked,  "  under  your  guard,  and  within 
the  same  prison  ?  " 

"  The  queen !  "  he  rejoined,  and  lowering  his  tone,  added, 
"  she  is  far  enough  from  here.  If  others  know  it  not,  I 
know  that  she  is  well  on  her  way  to  Eome.  She  has  let 
too  much  Eoman  blood  for  her  safety  within  reach  of  Koman 
swords,  I  can  tell  you,  —  Aurelian  notwithstanding.  That 
butchery  of  the  centurions  did  neither  any  good.  " 

"  You  say  to-morrow  is  the  day  appointed  for  the 
execution  ? " 

"  So  I  said.  But  you  will  scarce  believe  it  when  you  see 
the  prisoners.  They  seem  rather  as  if  they  were  for  Eome 
upon  a  journey  of  pleasure,  than  so  soon  for  the  axe.  But 
walk  in.  And  when  you  would  be  let  out,  make  a  signal 
by  drawing  the  cord  which  you  will  find  within  the  inner 
ward.  * 

I  passed  in,  and  meeting  another  officer  of  the  prison, 
was  by  him  shown  the  door  that  led  to  the  cell  of  Gracchus, 
and  the  cord  by  which  I  was  to  make  the  necessary  signal. 

I  unbarred  the  door,  and  entered.  Gracchus,  who  was 
pacing  to  and  fro  in  his  apartment,  upon  seeing  who  his 
visitor  was,  greeted  me  in  his  cordial,  cheerful  way.  His 
first  inquiry  was,  — 

"  Is  Fausta  well  ?  " 

"  I  left  her  well ;  well  as  her  grief  would  allow  her  to  be.  " 

"  My  room  is  narrow,  Piso,  but  it  offers  two  seats.     Let 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  383 

us  sit.  This  room  is  not  our  hall  in  Palmyra,  nor  the  ban- 
queting-room ;  this  window  is  too  small, —  nay,  it  is  in  some 
sort  but  a  crevice,  —  and  this  ceiling  is  too  low,  and  these 
webs  of  the  spider,  the  prisoner's  friend,  are  not  our  purple 
hangings,  —  but  it  might  all  be  worse.  I  am  free  of  chains, 
and  I  can  walk  the  length  of  my  room  and  back  again,  and 
there  is  light  enough  from  our  chink  to  see  a  friend's  face 
by.  Yet,  far  as  these  things  are  from  worst,  I  trust  not  to 
be  annoyed  or  comforted  by  them  long.  You  have  done 
kindly,  Piso,  to  seek  me  out  thus  remote  from  Palmyra, 
and  death  will  be  lighter  for  your  presence.  I  am  glad  to 
see  you. " 

"  I  could  not,  as  you  may  easily  suppose,  remain  in  Pal 
myra,  and  you  here  and  thus.  For  Fausta's  sake  and  my 
own,  I  must  be  here.  Although  I  should  not  speak  a  word, 
nor  you,  there  is  a  happiness  in  being  near  and  in  seeing. " 

"  There  is.  Confinement  for  a  long  period  of  time  were 
robbed  of  much  of  its  horror,  if  there  were  near  you  but 
a  single  human  countenance,  and  that  a  stranger's,  upon 
which  you  might  look, —  especially  if  you  might  read  there 
pity  and  affection.  Then  if  this  countenance  should  be 
that  of  one  known  and  beloved,  it  would  be  almost  like 
living  in  society,  even  though  speech  were  prohibited. 
Tyrants  know  this ;  these  walls  are  the  proof  of  it.  Aure- 
lian  is  not  a  tyrant  in  this  sense.  He  is  not  without  mag 
nanimity.  Are  you  here  with  his  knowledge  ?  " 

"  By  his  express  provision.  The  gaoler  had  been  fur 
nished  with  my  name.  You  are  right,  surely,  touching 
the  character  of  Aurelian.  Though  rude  and  unlettered, 
and  severe  almost  to  cruelty,  there  are  generous  sentiments 
within  which  shed  a  softening  light,  if  inconstant,  upon 
the  darker  traits.  I  would  conceal  nothing  from  you,  Grac 
chus  ;  as  I  would  do  nothing  without  your  approbation.  I 
know  your  indifference  to  life.  I  know  that  you  would  not 
purchase  a  day  by  any  unworthy  concession,  by  any  doubt 
ful  act  or  word.  Eelying  with  some  confidence  upon  the 
generosity  of  Aurelian  —  " 

"  Why,  Lucius,  so  hesitating  and  indirect  ?    You  would 


384  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

say  that  you  have  appealed  to  Aurelian  for  my  life,  and 
that  hope  is  not  extinct  in  your  mind  of  escape  from  this 
appointed  death. " 

"  That  is  what  I  would  say.  The  emperor  inclines  to 
spare  your  life,  but  wavers.  Shall  I  seek  another  inter 
view  with  him?  And  is  there  any  argument  which  you 
would  that  I  should  urge;  or  would  you  rather  that  I 
should  forbear?  It  is,  Gracchus,  because  I  feared  lest  I 
had  been  doing  you  a  displeasing  and  undesired  service 
that  I  have  now  spoken.  " 

"  Piso,  it  is  the  simple  truth,  when  I  say  that  I  antici 
pate  the  hour  and  the  moment  of  death  with  the  same  in 
difference  and  composure  that  I  do  any  the  most  common 
event.  I  have  schooled  myself  to  patience.  Acquiescence 
in  the  will  of  the  gods, —  if  gods  there  are, —  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  in  the  order  of  events,  is  the  temper  which, 
since  I  have  reflected  at  all,  I  have  cultivated,  and  to  which 
I  can  say  I  have  fully  attained.  I  throw  myself  upon  the 
current  of  life  unresisting,  to  be  wafted  whithersoever  it 
will.  I  look  with  desire  neither  to  this  shore  nor  the  op 
posite,  to  one  port  nor  another ;  but  wherever  I  am  borne 
and  permitted  to  act,  I  straightway  find  there  and  in  that 
my  happiness.  Not  that  one  allotment  is  not  in  itself 
preferable  to  another,  but  that  there  being  so  much  of  life 
over  which  man  has  no  control,  and  cannot,  if  he  would, 
secure  his  felicity,  I  think  it  wiser  to  renounce  all  action 
and  endeavour  concerning  it,  —  receiving  what  is  sent  or  hap 
pens  with  joy,  if  it  be  good,  without  complaint,  if  it  be  evil. 
In  this  manner  have  I  secured  an  inward  calm  which  has 
been  as  a  fountain  of  life.  My  days,  whether  they  have 
been  dark  ones,  or  bright,  as  others  term  them,  have  flowed 
along  a  smooth  and  even  current.  Under  misfortune  I  be 
lieve  I  have  enjoyed  more  from  this  my  inward  frame,  than 
many  a  son  of  prosperity  has  in  the  very  height  of  his  glory. 
That  which  so  disturbs  the  peace  of  multitudes,  even  of 
philosophers,  —  the  prospect  of  death,  —  has  occasioned  me 
not  one  moment's  disquiet.  It  is  true,  I  know  not  what  it 
is,  —  do  I  know  what  life  is  ?  —  but  that  is  no  reason  why 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  385 

I  should  fear  it.  One  thing  I  know,  which  is  this,  —  that 
it  will  come,  as  it  comes  to  all,  and  that  I  cannot  escape 
it.  It  may  take  me  where  it  will,  I  shall  be  content.  If  it 
be  but  a  change,  and  I  live  again  elsewhere,  I  shall  be  glad, — 
especially  if  I  am  then  exempt  from  evils  in  my  condition 
which  assail  me  here ;  if  it  be  extinction  of  being,  it  will 
but  resemble  those  nights  when  I  sleep  without  dreaming, — 
it  will  not  yield  any  delights,  but  it  will  not  bring  affright 
or  torment.  I  desire  not  to  entertain,  and  I  do  not  enter 
tain,  either  hope  or  fear.  I  am  passive.  My  will  is  anni 
hilated.  The  object  of  my  life  has  been  to  secure  the 
greatest  amount  of  pleasure,  —  that  being  the  best  thing  of 
which  we  can  conceive.  This  I  have  done  by  acting  right.  I 
have  found  happiness  —  or  that  which  we  agree  to  call  so  — 
in  acting  in  accordance  with  that  part  of  my  nature  which 
prescribes  the  line  of  duty :  not  in  any  set  of  philosophi 
cal  opinions ;  not  in  expectations  in  futurity ;  not  in  any 
fancies  or  dreams, —  but  in  the  substantial  reality  of  virtuous 
action.  I  have  sought  to  treat  both  myself  and  others  in 
such  a  way  that  afterwards  I  should  not  hear  from  either 
a  single  word  of  reproach.  In  this  way  of  life  I  have  for 
the  most  part  succeeded,  as  any  one  can  who  will  apply  his 
powers,  as  he  may  if  he  will.  I  have  at  this  hour,  which 
it  may  be  is  the  last  of  my  life,  no  complaints  to  make  or 
hear  against  myself.  So  too  in  regard  to  others,  —  at  least 
I  know  not  that  there  is  one  living  whom  I  have  wronged, 
and  to  whom  I  owe  the  least  reparation.  Now,  therefore, 
by  living  in  the  best  manner  for  this  life  on  earth,  I  have 
prepared  myself  in  the  best  manner  for  death,  and  for  an 
other  life,  if  there  be  one.  If  there  be  none,  —  still,  what 
I  have  enjoyed  I  have  enjoyed,  and  it  has  been  more  than 
any  other  manner  of  life  could  have  afforded.  So  that,  in 
any  event,  I  am  like  a  soldier  armed  at  all  points.  To  me, 
Piso,  to  die  is  no  more  than  to  go  on  to  live;  both  are 
events.  To  both  I  am  alike  indifferent;  I  know  nothing 
about  either.  As  for  the  pain  of  death,  it  is  not  worthy  a 
moment's  thought,  even  if  it  were  considerable.  But  it 
appears  to  me  that  it  is  not.  I  have  many  times  witnessed 


386  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

it;  and  it  has  ever  seemed  that  death,  so  far  from  being 
represented  by  any  word  signifying  pain,  would  be  better 
expressed  by  any  one  that  should  stand  for  insensibility, — 
the  nearer  death,  the  nearer  apathy.  There  is  pain  which 
often  precedes  it,  in  various  forms  of  sickness ;  but  this  is 
sickness,  not  death.  Such  pains  we  often  endure,  and  re 
cover, —  worse  often  than,  apparently,  are  endured  by  those 
who  die. " 

"  I  perceive,  then,  Gracchus,  that  I  have  given  you 
neither  pain  nor  pleasure  by  anything  I  have  done. " 

"  Not  that,  exactly.  It  has  given  me  pleasure  that  you 
have  sought  to  do  me  a  service.  For  myself,  it  will  weigh 
but  little  whether  you  succeed  or  fail.  Your  intercession 
has  not  displeased  me.  It  cannot  affect  my  good  name. 
For  Fausta's  sake,"  at  her  name  he  paused  as  if  for 
strength,  "  and  because  she  wishes  it,  I  would  rather  live 
than  die.  Otherwise  my  mind  is  even-poised,  inclining 
neither  way. " 

*  But  would  it  not  afford  you,  Gracchus,  a  sensible  pleas 
ure,  if,  supposing  you  are  now  to  die,  you  could  anticipate 
with  certainty  a  future  existence  ?  You  are  now,  you  say, 
in  a  state  of  indifference,  as  to  life  or  death.  Above  all, 
you  are  delivered  from  all  apprehensions  concerning  death 
and  futurity.  This  is,  it  cannot  be  denied,  a  great  felicity. 
You  are  able  to  sit  here  calm  and  composed.  But  it  seems 
to  me,  if  you  were  possessed  of  a  certain  expectation  of 
immortality,  you  would  be  very  much  animated  and  trans 
ported,  as  it  were,  with  the  prospect  of  the  wonderful  scenes 
so  soon  to  be  revealed.  If,  with  such  a  belief,  you  could 
turn  back  your  eye  upon  as  faultless  and  virtuous  a  life  as 
you  have  passed,  you  would  cast  it  forward  with  feelings 
far  from  those  of  indifference.  " 

"  What  you  assert  is  very  true.  Doubtless  it  would  be  as 
you  say.  I  can  conceive  that  death  may  be  approached,  not 
only  with  composure,  but  with  a  bursting  impatience,  —  just 
as  the  youthful  traveller  pants  to  leap  from  the  vessel  that 
bears  him  to  a  foreign  land.  This  would  be  the  case  if  we 
were  as  secure  of  another  and  happier  life  as  we  are  certain 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  387 

that  we  live  now.  In  future  ages,  perhaps  through  the 
discoveries  of  reason,  perhaps  by  disclosures  from  superior 
beings,  it  may  be  so  universally,  and  death  come  to  be 
regarded  even  with  affection,  as  the  great  deliverer  and 
rewarder.  But  at  present  it  is  very  different ;  I  have  found 
no  evidence  to  satisfy  me  in  any  of  the  systems  of  ancient 
or  modern  philosophers,  from  Pythagoras  to  Seneca  and  our 
own  Longinus,  either  of  the  existence  of  a  God,  or  of  the 
reality  of  a  future  life.  It  seems  to  me  oftentimes,  in  cer 
tain  frames  of  mind,  but  they  are  transient,  as  if  both  were 
true ;  they  feel  true,  but  that  is  all.  I  find  no  evidence 
beyond  this  inward  feeling  at  all  complete  and  sufficient, — 
and  this  feeling  is  nothing ;  it  is  of  the  nature  of  a  dream ; 
I  cannot  rely  upon  it.  So  that  I  have,  as  I  still  judge, 
wisely  intrenched  myself  behind  indifference.  I  have  never 
indulged  in  idle  lamentations  over  evils  that  could  not  be 
removed,  nor  do  I  now.  Submission  is  the  law  of  my  life, 
the  sum  of  my  philosophy. " 

"  The  Christians, "  I  here  said,  "  seem  to  possess  that 
which  all  so  much  desire,  —  a  hope  amounting  to  a  certain 
expectation  of  immortality.  They  all,  so  I  am  informed, 
the  poor  and  the  humble,  as  well  as  the  rich  and  the  learned, 
live  while  they  live,  as  feeling  themselves  to  be  only  pas 
sengers  here,  and  when  they  die,  die  as  those  who  pass  from 
one  stage  of  a  journey  to  another.  To  them  death  loses  its 
character  of  death,  and  is  associated  rather  in  their  minds 
with  life,  ft  is  a  beginning  rather  than  an  ending;  a 
commencement,  not  a  consummation ;  being  born,  not 
dying. " 

"  So  I  have  heard,  but  I  have  never  considered  their  doc 
trine.  The  Christian  philosophy,  or  doctrine,  is  almost 
the  only  one  of  all  which  lay  claim  to  such  distinction 
that  I  have  not  studied.  I  have  been  repelled  from  that, 
I  suppose,  by  seeing  it,  in  so  great  proportion,  the  property 
of  the  vulgar.  What  they  so  rejoiced  in,  it  has  appeared 
to  me,  could  not  at  the  same  time  be  what  would  yield  me 
either  pleasure  or  wisdom.  At  least,  in  other  things  the 
vulgar  and  the  refined  seek  their  knowledge  and  their  pleas- 


ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

ures  from  very  different  sources.  I  cannot  conceive  of  the 
same  philosophy  approving  itself  to  both  classes.  Do  you 
learn,  Piso,  when  the  time  for  the  execution  of  the  prisoners 
is  appointed  ? " 

"  To-morrow,  as  I  heard  from  the  gaoler.  " 

"  To-morrow !  It  is  well.  Yet  I  marvel  that  the  gaoler 
told  not  me.  I  am  somewhat  more  concerned  to  know  the 
hour  than  you,  yet  to  you  he  has  imparted  what  he  has 
withheld  from  me.  He  is  a  partial  knave.  Have  you  yet 
seen  Longinus  ? " 

"  I  have  not,  but  shall  visit  him  in  the  morning. " 

"  Do  so.  He  will  receive  you  with  pleasure.  Tell  me 
if  he  continues  true  in  his  affections  for  the  queen.  His  is 
a  great  trial,  labouring,  as  at  first  he  did,  to  turn  her  from 
the  measures  that  have  come  to  this  end,  —  now  dying,  be 
cause  at  last,  out  of  friendship  for  her,  rather  than  any 
thing  else,  he  espoused  her  cause.  Yet  it  is  almost  the 
same  with  me.  And  for  myself,  the  sweetest  feeling  of 
this  hour  is,  that  I  die  for  Zenobia,  and  that  perhaps  my 
death  is  in  part  the  sacrifice  that  spares  her.  Incompar 
able  woman,  how  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  known  thee 
are  bound  to  thee,  so  that  thy  very  errors  and  faults  are 
esteemed  to  be  virtues !  " 

Our  conversation  here  ended,  and  I  turned  from  the 
prison,  resolved  to  seek  the  presence  of  Aurelian.  I  did 
so.  He  received  me  with  urbanity  as  before,  but  neither 
confirmed  my  hopes  nor  fears.  I  returned  again  to  the  cell 
of  Gracchus,  with  whom,  in  various,  and  to  me  most  in 
structive  conversation,  I  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

In  the  morning,  with  a  spirit  heavy  and  sad,  burdened,  in 
deed,  with  a  grief  such  as  I  never  before  had  experienced,  I 
turned  to  seek  the  apartment  of  Longinus.  It  was  not  far 
from  that  of  Gracchus.  The  keeper  of  the  prison  readily 
admitted  me,  saying,  "  that  free  intercourse  was  allowed  the 
prisoners  with  all  whom  it  was  their  desire  to  see,  and  that 
there  were  several  friends  of  Longinus  already  with  him. " 
With  these  words  he  let  fall  a  heavy  bar,  and  the  door  of 
the  cell  creaked  upon  its  hinges. 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  389 

The  room  into  which  I  passed  seemed  a  dungeon,  rather 
than  anything  else  or  better,  for  the  only  light  it  had  came 
from  a  small  barred  window  far  above  the  reach.  Longinus 
was  seated  near  a  massy  central  column,  to  which  he  was 
bound  by  a  chain ;  his  friends  were  around  him,  with  whom 
he  appeared  to  have  been  engaged  in  earnest  conversation. 
He  rose  as  I  approached  him,  and  saluted  me  with  that 
grace  that  is  natural  to  him,  and  which  is  expressive,  not 
more  of  his  high  breeding,  than  of  an  inward  benevolence 
that  goes  forth  and  embraces  all  who  draw  near  him. 

"  Although, "  said  he,  "  I  am  forsaken  of  that  which  men 
call  fortune,  yet  I  am  not  forgotten  by  my  friends ;  so  that 
the  best  things  remain.  Piso,  I  rejoice  truly  to  see  you. 
These  whom  you  behold,  are  pupils  and  friends  whom  you 
have  often  met  at  my  house,  —  if  this  dim  light  will  allow 
you  to  distinguish  them.  " 

"  My  eyes  are  not  yet  so  used  to  darkness  as  to  see  with 
much  distinctness,  but  I  recognize  well-known  faces.  " 

After  mutual  salutations,  Longinus  said,  "  Let  me  now 
first  inquire  concerning  the  daughter  of  Gracchus,  that 
bright  emanation  from  the  Deity.  I  trust  in  the  gods  she 
is  well. " 

"  I  left  her, "  I  replied,  "  overwhelmed  by  sorrow.  To 
lose  at  once  country,  parent,  and  friends  is  loss  too  great, 
I  fear,  for  her.  Death  to  Gracchus  will  be  death  also  to 
her." 

"  The  temper  of  Fausta  is  too  sanguine,  her  heart  too 
warm.  She  was  designed  for  a  perpetual  prosperity.  The 
misfortunes  that  overtake  her  friends  she  makes  more  than 
her  own.  Others'  sufferings,  — her  own  she  could  bear,  — 
falling  upon  her  so  thickly,  will,  if  they  leave  her  life, 
impart  a  lasting  bitterness  to  it.  It  were  better,  perhaps, 
that  she  died  with  us.  Gracchus  you  have  found  altogether 
Gracchus  ? " 

"  I  have.  He  is  in  the  prison  as  he  was  in  his  own 
palace.  His  thoughts  will  sometimes  wander  to  his  daugh 
ter, —  oftener  than  he  would, —  and  then  in  the  mirror  of  the 
face  you  behold  the  inward  sorrow  of  the  heart ;  but  it  is 


390  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

only  a  momentary  ruffling  of  the  surface,  and  straightway 
it  is  calm  again.  Except  this  only,  and  he  sits  upon  his 
hard  seat  in  the  same  composure  as  if  at  the  head  of  the 
senate. " 

"  Gracchus, "  said  Longinus,  in  reply,  "  is  naturally  great. 
He  is  a  giant ;  the  ills  of  life,  the  greater  and  the  lesser, 
which  assail  and  subdue  so  many,  can  make  nothing  of  him. 
He  is  impenetrable,  immovable.  Then  he  has  aided  nature 
by  the  precepts  of  philosophy.  What  he  wanted  of  insen 
sibility  to  evil,  he  has  added  from  a  doctrine  to  which  he 
himself  clings  tenaciously,  to  which  he  refers,  and  will 
refer,  as  the  spring  of  his  highest  felicity,  but  from  which  I 
—  so  variously  are  we  constituted  —  shrink  with  unfeigned 
horror.  Doubtless,  you  all  know  what  it  is  ?  * 

"  We  do. " 

"  I  grant  it  thus  much,  —  that  it  steels  the  mind  against 
pain ;  that  it  is  unrivalled  in  its  power  to  sear  and  harden 
the  soul;  and  that  if  it  were  man's  common  lot  to  be  ex 
posed  to  evil,  and  evil  chiefly,  it  were  a  philosophy  to  be 
greatly  coveted.  But  it  is  deadening,  benumbing,  in  its 
influences.  It  oppresses  the  soul  and  overlays  it.  It  de 
livers  it  by  rendering  it  insensible,  not  by  imparting  a  new 
principle  of  vitality  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  ill.  It 
does  the  same  service  that  a  stupefying  draught  does  to  him 
who  is  about  to  submit  to  the  knife  of  the  surgeon,  or  the 
axe  of  the  executioner.  But  is  it  not  nobler  to  meet  such 
pains  fortified  in  no  other  way  than  by  a  resolute  purpose 
to  bear  them  as  well  as  the  nature  the  gods  have  given  you 
will  allow  ?  And  suppose  you  shrink  or  give  signs  of  suf 
fering,  —  that  does  not  impeach  the  soul ;  it  is  rather  the 
gods  themselves  who  cry  out  through  you.  You  did  not ; 
it  was  your  corporeal  nature,  —  something  beside  your  proper 
self.  It  is  to  be  no  subject  of  humiliation  to  us,  or  of  grief, 
that  when  the  prospect  of  acute  suffering  is  before  us,  or 
still  more,  when  called  to  endure  it,  we  give  many  tokens 
of  a  keen  sensibility,  so  it  be  that  at  the  same  time  we  re 
main  unshaken  in  our  principles,  arid  ready  to  bear  what 
we  must. " 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  391 

"  And  what, "  asked  the  young  Cleoras,  a  favourite  dis 
ciple  of  the  philosopher,  "  is  it  in  your  case  that  enables 
you  to  meet  misfortune  and  death  without  shrinking  ?  If 
you  take  not  shelter  behind  indifference,  what  other  shield 
do  you  find  to  be  sufficient  ?  " 

"  I  know, "  said  Longinus,  "  that  you  ask  this  question, 
not  because  you  have  never  heard  from  me,  virtually  at 
laast,  its  answer,  but  because  you  wish  to  hear  from  me  at 
this  hour  whether  I  adhere  with  firmness  to  the  principles 
I  have  ever  inculcated  respecting  death ;  and  whether  I  my 
self  derive  from  them  the  satisfactions  I  have  declared  them 
capable  to  impart.  It  is  right  and  well  that  you  do  so. 
And  I  on  my  part  take  pleasure  in  repeating  and  re-affirm 
ing  what  I  have  maintained  and  taught.  But  I  must  be 
brief  in  what  I  say,  more  so  than  I  have  been  in  replying 
to  your  other  inquiries,  Cleoras  and  Bassus,  for  I  perceive 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  rays  of  the  sun  shoot  through 
the  bars  of  the  window,  that  it  is  not  long  before  the  exe 
cutioner  will  make  his  appearance.  It  affords  me  then,  I 
say,  a  very  especial  satisfaction  to  declare,  in  the  presence 
of  so  many  worthy  friends,  my  continued  attachment  and 
hearty  devotion  to  the  truths  I  have  believed,  and  taught, 
concerning  the  existence  of  a  God,  and  the  reality  of  a 
future  and  immortal  life.  Upon  these  two  great  points  I 
suffer  from  no  serious  doubts ;  and  it  is  from  this  belief  that 
I  now  derive  the  serenity  and  eace  which  you  witness. 
All  the  arguments  which  you  have  often  heard  from  me  in 
support  of  them,  .now  seem  to  me  to  be  possessed  of  a  greater 
strength  than  ever.  I  will  not  repeat  them,  for  they  are 
too  familiar  to  you,  but  only  reaffirm  them,  and  pronounce 
them,  as  in  my  judgment,  affording  a  ground  for  our  as 
surance  in  the  department  of  moral  demonstration,  as  solid 
and  sufficient  as  the  reasonings  of  Euclid  afford  in  the  sci 
ence  of  geometry.  I  believe  in  a  supreme  God  and  Sov 
ereign  Ruler  of  the  world,  by  whose  wisdom  and  power  all 
things  and  beings  have  been  created  and  are  sustained,  and 
in  whose  presence  I  live  and  enjoy,  as  implicitly  as  I  be 
lieve  the  fifth  proposition  of  Euclid's  first  book.  I  believe  in 


392         ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

a  future  life  with  the  like  strength.  It  is  behind  these  cruths, 
Cleoras,  that  I  entrench  myself  at  this  hour ;  these  make  the 
shield  which  defends  me  from  the  assaults  of  fear  and 
despair,  that  would  otherwise,  I  am  sure,  overwhelm  me. " 

"  But  how  do  they  defend  you,  Longinus  ?  "  asked  Cleoras ; 
"  by  simply  rendering  you  inaccessible  to  the  shafts  which 
are  directed  against  you,  or  by  any  other  and  higher 
operation  upon  the  soul  ?  " 

"  Were  it  only, "  replied  the  philosopher,  *  that  truth 
made  me  insensible  and  indifferent,  I  should  pray  rather  to 
be  left  to  the  tutelage  of  nature.  I  both  despise  and  abhor 
doctrines  that  can  do  no  more  than  this.  I  desire  to  bless 
the  gods  that  the  philosophy  I  have  received  and  taught  has 
performed  for  me  a  far  more  essential  service.  This  ele 
vates  and  expands.  It  renders  nature,  as  it  were,  superior 
to  itself  and  its  condition.  It  causes  the  soul  to  assert  its 
entire  supremacy  over  its  companion,  the  body,  and  its 
dwelling-place,  the  earth,  and  in  the  perfect  possession  of 
itself  to  inhabit  a  better  world  of  its  own  creation.  It  in 
finitely  increases  all  its  sensibilities,  and  adds  to  the  con 
stitution  received  from  nature  what  may  be  termed  new 
senses,  so  vividly  does  it  come  to  apprehend  things  which, 
to  those  who  are  unenlightened  by  this  excellent  truth,  are 
as  if  they  had  no  existence,  their  minds  being  invested  with 
no  faculty  or  power  whereby  to  discern  and  esteem  them. 
So  far  from  carrying  those  who  embrace  it  farther  toward 
insensibility  and  indifference,  which  may  truly  be  called 
a  kind  of  death,  it  renders  them  intensely-  alive ;  and  it  is 
through  the  transforming  energies  of  this  new  life  that  the 
soul  is  made  not  insensible  to  pain,  but  superior  to  it,  and 
to  all  the  greater  ills  of  existence.  It  soars  above  them. 
The  knowledge  and  the  belief  that  fill  it,  furnish  it  with 
wings  by  which  it  is  borne  far  aloft,  even  at  the  very  time 
that  the  body  is  in  the  deepest  affliction.  Gracchus  meets 
death  with  equanimity,  and  that  is  something ;  it  is  better 
than  to  be  convulsed  with  vulgar  and  excessive  fear.  But 
it  is  a  state  of  the  soul  very  inferior  to  what  exists  in  those 
vrho  truly  receive  the  doctrines  which  I  have  taught  I, 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  393 

Cleoras,  look  upon  death  as  a  release,  not  from  a  life  which 
has  been  wholly  evil, —  for  I  have,  through  the  favour  of  the 
gods,  enjoyed  much,  — but  from  the  dominion  of  the  body, 
and  the  appetites  which  clog  the  soul  and  greatly  hinder 
it  in  its  efforts  after  a  perfect  virtue  and  a  true  felicity.  It 
will  open  a  way  for  me  into  those  elysian  realms  in  whose 
reality  all  men  have  believed,  a  very  few  excepted,  though 
few  or  none  could  prove  it.  Even  as  the  great  Koman  could 
call  that  '  Oh,  glorious  day, '  that  should  admit  him  to  the 
council  of  the  gods,  and  the  society  of  the  great  and  the 
good  who  had  preceded  him,  so  can  I  in  like  manner  desig 
nate  the  day  and  hour  which  are  now  present.  I  shall 
leave  you  whom  I  have  known  so  long ;  I  shall  be  separated 
from  scenes  familiar  and  beloved  through  a  series  of  years ; 
the  arts  and  the  sciences,  which  have  ministered  so  largely 
to  my  happiness,  in  these  forms  of  them  I  shall  lose ;  the 
very  earth  itself,  venerable  to  my  mind  for  the  events  which 
have  passed  upon  it,  and  the  genius  it  has  nurtured  and 
matured,  and  beautiful,  too,  in  its  array  of  forms  and  col 
ours,  I  shall  be  conversant  with  no  more.  Death  will 
divide  me  from  them  all;  but  it  will  bear  me  to  worlds 
and  scenes  of  a  far  exceeding  beauty.  It  will  introduce  me 
to  mansions  inconceivably  more  magnificent  than  anything 
which  the  soul  has  experience  of  here.  Above  all,  it  will 
bring  me  into  the  company  of  the  good  of  all  ages,  with 
whom  I  shall  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  an  uninterrupted  in 
tercourse.  It  will  place  me  where  I  shall  be  furnished  with 
ample  means  for  the  prosecution  of  all  those  inquiries  which 
have  engaged  me  on  earth,  exposed  to  none  or  fewer  of  the 
hindrances  which  have  here  thronged  the  way.  All  knowl 
edge  and  all  happiness  will  then  be  attainable.  Is  death 
to  be  called  an  evil,  or  is  it  to  be  feared  or  approached  with 
tears  and  regrets,  when  such  are  to  be  its  issues  ?  " 

"  By  no  means, "  said  Cleoras,  "  it  is  rather  to  be  desired. 
If  my  philosophy  were  as  deep  and  secure  as  yours,  O  Lon- 
ginus,  I  should  beg  to  exchange  places  with  you.  I  should 
willingly  suffer  a  brief  pain,  to  be  rewarded  so  largely.  But 
I  find  within  me  no  such  strong  assurance. " 


394  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  That, "  replied  I  onginus,  "  is  for  want  of  reflection.  It 
is  only  by  conversing  with  itself  that  the  soul  rises  to  any 
height  of  faith.  Argument  from  abroad  is  of  but  little  ser 
vice  in  the  comparison.  I  have  often  discoursed  with  you 
concerning  these  things,  and  have  laid  open  before  you  the 
grounds  upon  which  my  convictions  rest.  But  I  have  ever 
taught  that  consciousness  was  the  true  source  of  belief,  and 
that  of  this  you  could  possess  yourselves  only  through  hab 
its  of  profound  attention.  What  I  believe  I  feel.  I  cannot 
communicate  the  strength  of  my  belief  to  another,  because 
it  is  mysteriously  generated  within,  interweaving  itself  with 
all  my  faculties  and  affections,  and  abundantly  imparting 
itself  to  them,  but  at  the  same  time  inseparable  from  them 
in  such  a  sense  that  I  can  offer  it,  as  I  can  a  portion  of  my 
reason  or  my  knowledge,  to  any  whom  I  might  desire  to 
benefit.  It  is,  in  truth,  in  its  origin,  the  gift  of  God, 
strengthened  and  exalted  infinitely  by  reflection.  It  is  an 
instinct.  Were  it  otherwise,  why  could  I  not  give  to  you 
all  I  possess  myself,  and  possess  because  I  had  by  labour 
acquired  it  ?  Whereas,  though  I  believe  so  confidently  my 
self,  I  find  no  way  in  which  to  bestow  the  same  good  upon 
you.  But  each  one  will  possess  it,  I  am  persuaded,  in  the 
proportion  in  which  he  prepares  himself  by  a  pure  life  and 
habitual  meditation.  It  will  then  reveal  itself  with  new 
strength  every  day.  So  will  it  also  be  of  service  to  contem 
plate  the  characters  and  lives  of  those  who  have  lived  illus 
triously,  both  for  their  virtue  and  their  philosophy.  To 
study  the  character  of  Plato  will  be  more  beneficial  in  this 
regard  than  to  ponder  the  arguments  of  the  Phsedo.  Those 
arguments  are  trivial,  fanciful,  and  ingenious,  rather  than 
convincing.  And  the  great  advantage  to  be  derived  from 
the  perusal  of  that  treatise,  is  as  it  shall  be  regarded  as  a 
sublime  expression  of  the  confidence  with  which  its  author 
entertained  the  hope  of  immortality.  It  is  as  a  part  of 
Plato's  biography  —  of  the  history  of  his  mind  —  that  it  is 
valuable.  Through  meditation,  through  inward  purity, 
through  the  contemplation  of  bright  examples,  will  the  soul 
be  best  prepared  for  the  birth  of  that  feeling  or  conviction 


THE   DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  395 

that  shall  set  before  you  with  the  distinctness  and  certainty 
of  actual  vision  the  prospect  of  immortality. " 

"  But  are  there,  Longinus,  after  all,  no  waverings  of  the 
mind,  no  impertinent  doubts,  no  overcasting  shadows, 
which  at  all  disturb  your  peace,  or  impair  the  vividness  of 
your  faith  ?  Are  you  wholly  superior  to  fear,  —  the  fear  of 
suffering  and  death  ?  " 

"  That  is  not,  Cleoras,  so  much  to  ask  whether  I  still 
consider  my  philosophy  as  sufficient,  and  whether  it  be  so, 
as  whether  or  not  I  am  still  a  man,  and,  therefore,  a  mixed 
and  imperfect  being.  But  if  you  desire  the  assurance,  I  can 
answer  you,  and  say  that  I  am  but  a  man,  and,  therefore, 
notwithstanding  my  philosophy,  subject  to  infirmity  and  to 
assaults  from  the  body  which  undoubtedly  occasion  me 
some  distress.  But  these  seasons  are  momentary.  I  can 
truly  affirm  that  although  there  have  been,  and  still  are, 
conflicts,  the  soul  is  ever  conqueror,  and  that,  too,  by  very 
great  odds.  My  doubts  and  fears  are  mere  flitting  shadows ; 
my  hope,  a  strong  and  unchanging  beam  of  light.  The 
body  sometimes  slips  from  beyond  my  control  and  trembles ; 
but  the  soul  is  at  the  very  same  time  secure  in  herself  and 
undaunted.  I  present  the  same  apparent  contradiction  that 
the  soldier  often  does  upon  the  field  of  battle :  he  tremble's 
and  turns  pale  as  he  first  springs  forward  to  encounter  the 
foe,  but  his  arm  is  strong  and  his  soul  determined  at  the 
very  same  moment,  and  no  death  or  suffering  in  prospect 
avails  to  alarm  or  turn  him  back.  Do  not,  therefore,  al 
though  I  should  exhibit  signs  of  fear,  imagine  that  my  soul 
is  terrified,  or  that  I  am  forsaken  of  those  steadfast  prin 
ciples  to  which  I  have  given  in  my  allegiance  for  so  long 
a  time. " 

"  We  will  not,  Longinus, "  said  they  all. 

Longinus  here  paused,  and  seemed  for  a  time  buried  in 
meditation.  We  were  all  silent,  or  the  silence  was  broken 
only  by  the  sobs  of  those  who  could  not  restrain  their  grief. 

"  I  have  spoken  to  you,  my  friends, "  he  at  length  resumed, 
*  of  the  hope  of  immortality,  of  the  strength  it  yields,  and 
of  its  descent  from  God.  But  think  not  that  this  hope  can 


396  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

exist  "but  in  the  strictest  alliance  with  virtue.  The  hope  of 
immortality  without  virtue  is  a  contradiction  in  terms. 
The  perpetuation  of  vice,  or  of  any  vicious  affections  or 
desires,  can  be  contemplated  only  with  horror.  If  the  soul 
be  without  virtue,  it  is  better  that  it  should  perish.  And 
if  deep  stained  with  vice,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  very 
principle  of  life  may  be  annihilated.  As,  then,  you  would 
meet  the  final  hour  not  only  with  calmness,  but  with  pleas 
ant  expectations,  cherish  virtue  in  your  souls;  reverence 
the  Divinity ;  do  justly  by  all ;  obey  your  instincts,  which 
point  out  the  right  and  the  wrong;  keep  yourselves  pure; 
subdue  the  body.  As  virtue  becomes  a  habit  and  a  choice, 
and  the  soul,  throughout  all  its  affections  and  powers,  har 
monizes  with  Nature  and  God,  so  will  the  hope  of  immor 
tality  increase  in  strength  till  it  shall  grow  to  a  confident 
expectation.  Remember  that  virtue  is  the  golden  key, 
and  the  only  one,  that  unlocks  the  gates  of  the  celestial 
mansions. " 

I  here  asked  Longinus  if  he  was  conscious  of  having  been 
influenced  in  any  of  his  opinions  by  Christianity.  "  I  know, " 
I  said,  "  that  in  former  conversations  you  have  ever  objected 
to  that  doctrine.  Does  your  judgment  remain  the  same  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  read  the  writings  of  the  Christians :  yet  am 
I  not  wholly  ignorant  of  them,  since  it  were  impossible  to 
know  with  such  familiarity  the  Princess  Julia,  and  not  ar 
rive  at  some  just  conceptions  of  what  that  religion  is.  But  I 
have  not  received  it.  Yet  even  as  a  piece  of  polished  metal 
takes  a  thousand  hues  from  surrounding  objects,  so  does  the 
mind ;  and  mine  may  have  been  unconsciously  coloured  and 
swayed  by  the  truths  of  Christianity,  which  I  have  heard 
so  often  stated  and  defended.  Light  may  have  fallen  upon 
it  from  that  quarter  as  well  as  from  others.  I  doubt  not 
that  it  has.  For  although  I  cannot  myself  admit  that  doc 
trine,  yet  am  I  now,  and  have  ever  been,  persuaded  of  its 
excellence,  and  that  upon  such  as  can  admit  it,  it  must 
exert  a  power  altogether  beneficial.  But  let  us  now,  for  the 
little  time  that  remains,  turn  to  other  things.  Piso,  know 
you  aught  concerning  the  queen  ?  I  have  not  seen  her  since 


THE  DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  397 

the  day  of  her  flight,  nor  have  I  heard  concerning  her  that 
which  I  could  trust.  " 

I  then  related  at  length  all  that  I  knew. 

"  Happy  would  it  have  been  for  her  and  for  all,  had  my 
first  counsels  prevailed !  Yet  am  I  glad  that  fortune  spares 
her.  May  she  live  to  hear  of  Palmyra  once  more  restored 
to  opulence  and  glory.  I  was  happy  in  her  service.  I  am 
now  happy,  if  by  my  death,  as  by  my  life,  I  can  avert  from 
her  evil  that  otherwise  might  have  overtaken  her.  For  her 
or  for  the  princess,  there  is  no  extremity  I  would  not  en 
dure,  as  there  have  been  no  services  I  have  not  rejoiced  to 
perform.  The  only  favour  I  have  asked  of  Aurelian  was, 
to  be  permitted  a  last  interview  with  my  great  pupils ;  it 
did  not  agree  with  my  opinions  of  him  that  I  was  denied 
so  reasonable  a  request.  " 

"  Perhaps, "  said  I,  "  it  is  in  my  power  to  furnish  the 
reason,  having  been  informed,  since  reaching  Emesa,  that 
the  queen  with  her  attendants  and  the  princesses  had  been 
sent  on  secretly  toward  Rome,  that  they  might  be  placed 
beyond  the  risk  of  violence  on  the  part  of  the  legions.  He 
himself  was  doubtful  of  his  power  to  protect  them. " 

"  For  the  sake  of  both,  am  I  glad  to  hear  the  explana 
tion, "  replied  Longinus. 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  the  sound  of  steps  was  heard 
as  of  several  approaching  the  door  of  the  room.  Then  the 
heavy  bar  of  the  door  was  let  fall,  and  the  key  turned  in  the 
wards  of  the  lock.  We  knew  that  the  last  moments  of 
Longinus  had  arrived.  Although  knowing  this  so  well, 
yet  we  still  were  not  ready  for  it,  and  a  horror  as  of  some 
unlooked-for  calamity  came  over  us.  Cleoras  wept  without 
restraint,  and  throwing  himself  down  before  Longinus,  em 
braced  his  knees,  and  as  the  officers  entered  and  drew  near, 
warned  them  away  with  threatening  language.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  Longinus  calmed  him.  He  seemed  to  have 
lost  the  possession  of  his  reason. 

The  gaoler,  followed  by  a  guard,  now  came  up  to  Lon 
ginus,  and  informed  him  that  the  hour  appointed  for  his 
execution  had  arrived. 


398  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

Longinus  replied,  "  that  he  was  ready  to  go  with  him, 
but  must  first,  when  his  chains  were  taken  off,  be  permitted 
to  address  himself  to  the  gods.  For  we  ought  to  undertake 
no  enterprise  of  moment,  especially  ought  we  not  to  ven 
ture  into  any  unknown  and  untried  scenes,  without  first 
asking  their  guidance  who  alone  have  power  to  carry  us 
safely  through. " 

"  This  we  readily  grant, "  replied  the  gaoler,  who  then, 
taking  his  hammer,  struck  off  the  chain  that  was  bound 
round  the  middle  of  his  body. 

Longinus  then,  without  moving  from  where  he  sat,  bent 
his  head,  and  covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  remained 
a  few  moments  in  that  posture.  The  apartment  was  silent 
as  if  no  one  had  been  in  it.  Even  Cleoras  was  by  that  sight 
taught  to  put  a  restraint  upon  the  expression  of  his  feelings. 

When  these  few  moments  were  ended,  Longinus  raised 
his  head,  and,  with  a  bright  and  smiling  countenance,  said 
to  the  gaoler  that  he  was  now  ready. 

He  then  went  out  in  company  with  the  guard  and  sol 
diers,  we  following  in  sad  procession.  The  place  of  exe 
cution  was  in  front  of  the  camp,  all  the  legions  being  drawn 
around  to  witness  it,  Aurelian  himself  being  present  among 
them. 

Soon  as  we  came  in  sight  of  that  fatal  place,  and  of  the 
executioner  standing  with  his  axe  lifted  upon  his  shoulder, 
Longinus  suddenly  stopped,  his  face  became  pale,  and  his 
frame  trembled.  He  turned  and  looked  upon  us  who  were 
immediately  behind  him,  and  held  up  his  hand,  but  with 
out  speaking,  which  was  as  much  as  to  say,  "  You  perceive 
that  what  I  said  was  very  likely  to  happen  has  come  to  pass, 
and  the  body  has  obtained  a  momentary  triumph.  *  He 
paused,  however,  not  long,  making  then  a  sign  to  the  sol 
diers  that  he  was  ready  to  proceed.  After  a  short  walk 
from  that  spot,  we  reached  the  block  and  executioner. 

*  Friend, "  said  he  now  to  the  executioner,  "  I  hope  your 
axe  is  sharp,  and  that  you  are  skilful  in  your  art ;  and  yet 
it  is  a  pity  if  you  have  had  so  much  practice  as  to  have 
become  very  dexterous  in  it. " 


THE   DEATH  OF  LONGINUS.  399 

"Ten  years*  service  in  Eome, "  he  replied,  "may  well 
make  one  so,  or  he  must  be  born  with  little  wit.  Distrust 
not  my  arm,  for  it  has  never  failed  yet.  One  blow,  and 
that  a  light  one,  is  all  I  want,  if  it  be,  as  it  ought,  a  little 
slanting.  As  for  this  edge  —  feel  it  if  thou  wilt  —  it  would 
do  for  thy  beard.  " 

Longinus  had  now  divested  himself  of  whatever  parts  of 
his  garments  would  obstruct  the  executioner  in  his  duty, 
and  was  about  to  place  his  head  in  the  prescribed  place, 
when  he  first  turned  to  us  and  again  held  out  his  hands, 
which  now  trembled  no  longer. 

"  You  see, "  said  he,  in  a  cheerful  voice,  "  that  the  soul 
is  again  supreme.  Love  and  cultivate  the  soul,  my  good 
friends,  and  you  will  then  be  universal  conquerors,  and 
throughout  all  ages.  It  will  never  betray  you.  Now,  my 
new  friend,  open  for  me  the  gates  of  immortality,  for  you 
are  in  .truth  a  celestial  porter.  "  So  saying,  he  placed  him 
self  as  he  was  directed  to  do,  and  at  a  single  blow,  as  he  had 
been  promised,  the  head  of  Longinus  was  severed  from  the 
body. 

Neither  the  head  nor  the  body  was  delivered  to  the  sol 
diers,  or  allowed  to  be  treated  with  disrespect ;  this  favour 
we  had  obtained  of  Aurelian.  So  after  the  executioner  had 
held  up  the  head  of  the  philosopher,  and  shown  it  to  the 
soldiers,  it  was,  together  with  the  body,  given  to  our  care, 
and  by  us  sent  to  Palmyra. 

On  this  same  day  perished  Otho,  Seleucus,  Gabrayas, 
Nicanor, —  all,  in  a  word,  of  the  queen's  council,  and  almost 
all  of  the  senate.  Some  were  reserved  for  execution  at 
another  time,  and  among  these  I  found,  as  I  went  sadly 
toward  the  cell  of  Gracchus,  was  the  father  of  Fausta. 

The  keeper  of  the  prison  admitted  me  with  a  more  cheer 
ful  air  than  before,  and  with  a  significant  shake  of  the  head. 
I  heeded  him  but  little,  pressing  on  to  meet  Gracchus. 

"  So, "  I  exclaimed,  "  it  is  not  to-day  —  " 

"  No,"  rejoined  Gracchus,  visibly  moved,  "  nor  to-morrow, 
Piso.  Kead  here.  "  And  placing  a  parchment  in  my  hand, 
turned  away. 


400  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

It  contained  a  full  and  free  remission  of  punishment,  and 
permission  to  return  immediately  to  Palmyra. 

"  The  gods  be  praised,  the  gods  be  praised !  "  I  cried,  as  I 
embraced  him.  "  Is  not  this  better,  Gracchus  ?  " 

"  It  is, "  said  he,  with  emphasis,  "  a  great  boon,  I  do  not 
deny  it.  For  Fausta's  sake  I  rejoice ;  as  for  myself,  all  is 
strictly  true  which  I  have  said  to  you.  But  I  forget  all 
now,  save  Fausta  and  her  joy,  and  renewed  life.  Would, 
oh,  would  that  Longinus  could  have  returned  to  Palmyra 
with  me !  "  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  Gracchus  gave  way 
to  grief,  and  wept  aloud. 

In  the  morning  we  set  off  for  Palmyra.     Farewell 


TRIUMPHAL  ARCH. 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  401 


LETTEE  XVII. 

THE  FALL  OF  PALMYKA, 

THE  AMNESTY.  —  ANTIOCHUS  PLOTS.  —  MARRIAGE  OF  FAUSTA. — 
THE  MASSACRE  OF  THE  ROMANS.  —  ANTIOCHUS  PROCLAIMED 
KING.  —  GRACCHUS  LEAVES  THE  CITY.  —  RETURN  OF  AURELIAN. 
—  ROMAN  VENGEANCE. 

I  WRITE  again  from  Palmyra. 
We  arrived  here  after  a  day's  hard  travel.  The  sensa 
tion  occasioned  by  the  unexpected  return  of  Gracchus  seemed 
to  cause  a  temporary  forgetfulness  of  their  calamities  on  the 
part  of  the  citizens.  As  we  entered  the  city  at  the  close  of 
the  day,  and  they  recognized  their  venerated  friend,  there 
were  no  bounds  to  the  tumultuous  expressions  of  their  joy. 
The  whole  city  was  abroad.  It  were  hard  to  say  whether 
Fausta  herself  was  more  pained  by  excess  of  pleasure,  than 
was  each  citizen  who  thronged  the  streets  as  we  made  our 
triumphal  entry. 

A  general  amnesty  of  the  past  having  been  proclaimed  by 
Sandarion  immediately  after  the  departure  of  Aurelian  with 
the  prisoners  whom  he  chose  to  select,  we  found  Calpurnius 
already  returned.  At  Fausta 's  side  he  received  us  as  we 
dismounted  in  the  palace-yard.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  we 
passed  our  first  evening.  Yet  it  was  one  of  very  mixed 
enjoyment.  Fausta 's  eye,  as  it  dwelt  upon  the  beloved  form 
of  her  father,  seemed  to  express  unalloyed  happiness.  But 
then,  again,  as  it  was  withdrawn  at  those  moments  when 
his  voice  kept  not  her  attention  fixed  upon  himself,  she  fell 
back  upon  the  past  and  the  lost,  and  the  shadows  of  a  deep 
sadness  would  gather  over  her.  So,  in  truth,  was  it  with 
us  all ;  especially  when,  at  the  urgency  of  the  rest,  I  re 
lated  to  them  the  interviews  I  had  had  with  Longinus,  and 


402  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

described  to  them  his  behaviour  in  the  prLon,  and  at  the 
execution. 

"  I  think, "  said  Fausta,  "  that  Aurelian,  in  the  death  of 
Longinus,  has  injured  his  fame  far  more  than  by  the  cap 
ture  of  Zenobia  and  the  reduction  of  Palmyra  he  has  added 
to  it.  Posterity  will  not  readily  forgive  him  for  putting 
out,  in  its  meridian  blaze,  the  very  brightest  light  of  the 
age.  It  surely  was  an  unnecessary  act.  " 

"  The  destruction  of  prisoners,  especially  those  of  rank 
and  influence,  is, "  said  I,  "  according  to  the  savage  usages  of 
war;  and  Aurelian  defends  the  death  of  Longinus  by  say 
ing,  that  in  becoming  the  first  adviser  of  Zenobia,  he  was 
no  longer  Longinus  the  philosopher,  but  Longinus  the 
minister  and  rebel. " 

"  That  will  be  held, "  she  replied,  "  as  a  poor  piece  of 
sophistry.  He  was  still  Longinus,  and  in  killing  Longinus 
the  minister,  he  basely  slew  Longinus  the  renowned  phi 
losopher,  the  accomplished  scholar,  the  man  of  letters  and 
of  taste,  the  greatest  man  of  the  age,  —  for  you  will  not 
say  that  either  in  Eome  or  Greece  there  now  lives  his 
equal. " 

"  Fausta, "  said  Gracchus,  "  you  are  right.  And  had 
Aurelian  been  any  more  or  higher  than  a  soldier,  he  would 
not  have  dared  to  encounter  the  odium  of  the  act ;  but  in 
simple  truth  he  was,  I  suppose,  and  is  utterly  insensible  to 
the  crime  he  has  committed,  not  against  an  individual  or 
Palmyra,  but  against  the  civilized  world  and  posterity,  —  a 
crime  that  will  grow  in  its  magnitude  as  time  rolls  on,  and 
will  forever,  and  to  the  remotest  times,  blast  the  fame  and 
the  name  of  him  who  did  it.  Longinus  belonged  to  all 
times  and  people,  and  by  them  will  be  avenged.  Aurelian 
could  not  understand  the  greatness  of  his  victim,  and  was 
ignorant  that  he  was  drawing  upon  himself  a  reproach 
greater  than  if  he  had  sacrificed  in  his  fury  the  queen 
herself  and  half  the  inhabitants  of  Palmyra.  He  will  find 
it  out  when  he  reaches  Rome.  He  will  find  himself  as 
notorious  there,  as  the  murderer  of  Longinus,  as  he  will  be 
as  conqueror  of  the  East  " 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  403 

<c  There  was  one  sentiment  of  Aurelian, "  I  said,  "  which 
he  expressed  to  me  when  I  urged  upon  him  the  sparing  of 
Longinus,  to  which  you  must  allow  some  greatness  to  attach. 
I  had  said  to  him  that  it  was  greater  to  pardon  than  to 
punish,  and  that  for  that  reason  —  'Ah! '  he  replied,  in 
terrupting  me,  '  I  may  not  gain  to  myself  the  fame  of  mag 
nanimity  at  the  expense  of  Home.  As  the  chief  enemy  of 
Kome  in  this  rebellion,  Kome  requires  his  punishment,  and 
Borne  is  the  party  to  be  satisfied,  not  I. ' 

"  I  grant  that  there  is  greatness  in  the  sentiment.  If  he 
was  sincere,  all  we  can  say  is,  that  he  misjudged  in  sup 
posing  that  Eome  needed  the  sacrifice.  She  needed  it  not. 
There  were  enough  heads  like  mine,  of  less  worth,  that 
would  do  for  the  soldiers, —  for  they  are  Rome  in  Aurelian 's 
vocabulary.  " 

"  Men  of  humanity  and  of  letters, "  I  replied,  "  will,  I 
suppose,  decide  upon  this  question  one  way,  politicians 
and  soldiers  another. " 

"  That,  I  believe, "  rejoined  Gracchus,  "  is  nearly  the 
truth. " 

Then,  wearied  by  a  prolonged  conversation,  we  sought  the 
repose  of  our  pillows,  each  one  of  us  happier  by  a  large  and 
overflowing  measure,  than  but  two  days  before  we  had  ever 
thought  to  be  again. 

The  city  is  to  all  appearance  tranquil  and  acquiescent 
under  its  bitter  chastisement.  The  outward  aspect  is  calm 
and  peaceful.  The  gates  are  thrown  open,  and  the  mer 
chants  and  traders  are  returning  to  the  pursuits  of  traffic ; 
the  gentry  and  nobles  are  engaged  in  refitting  and  re-embel 
lishing  their  rifled  palaces ;  and  the  common  people  have 
returned  in  quiet  to  the  several  channels  of  their  industry. 

I  have  made,  however,  some  observations  which  lead  me 
to  believe  that  all  is  not  so  settled  and  secure  as  it  seems  to 
be,  and  that  however  the  greater  proportion  of  the  citizens 
are  content  to  sit  down  patiently  under  the  rule  of  their 
new  masters,  others  are  not  of  their  mind.  I  can  perceive 
that  Antiochus,  who,  under  the  general  pardon  proclaimed 
by  Sandarion,  has  returned  to  the  city,  is  the  central  point 


404  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

of  a  good  deal  of  interest  among  a  certain  class  of  citizens. 
He  is  again  at  the  head  of  the  same  licentious  and  desperate 
crew  as  before,  —  a  set  of  men,  like  himself,  large  in  their 
resources,  lawless  in  their  lives,  and  daring  in  the  pursuit 
of  whatever  object  they  set  before  them.  To  one  who  knows 
the  men,  their  habits  and  manners,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see 
that  they  are  engaged  in  other  plans  than  appear  upon  the 
surface.  Yet  are  their  movements  so  quietly  ordered  as  to 
occasion  no  general  observation  or  remark.  Sandarion, 
ignorant  whence  danger  might  be  expected  to  arise,  appears 
not  to  indulge  suspicions  of  one  or  another.  Indeed,  from 
the  smallness  of  the  garrison,  from  the  whole  manner  both 
of  the  governor  and  those  who  are  under  him,  soldiers  and 
others,  it  is  evident  that  no  thought  of  a  rising  on  the  part 
of  the  populace  has  entered  their  minds. 

A  few  days  have  passed,  and  Gracchus  and  Fausta,  who 
inclined  not  to  give  much  heed  to  my  observations,  both 
think  with  me;  indeed,  to  Gracchus  communication  has 
been  made  of  the  existence  of  a  plot  to  rescue  the  city  from 
the  hands  of  Eome,  in  which  he  has  been  solicited  to  join. 

Antiochus  himself  has  sought  and  obtained  an  interview 
with  Gracchus. 

Gracchus  has  not  hesitated  to  reject  all  overtures  from 
that  quarter.  We  thus  learn  that  the  most  desperate  meas 
ures  are  in  agitation, —  weak  and  preposterous,  too,  as  they 
are  desperate,  and  must  in  the  end  prove  ruinous.  Antio 
chus,  we  doubt  not,  is  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  others ;  but  he 
stands  out  as  the  head  and  centre  of  the  conspiracy.  There 
is  a  violent  and  a  strong  party,  consisting  chiefly  of  the 
disbanded  soldiers,  but  of  some  drawn  from  every  class  of 
the  inhabitants,  whose  object  is,  by  a  sudden  attack,  to 
snatch  the  city  from  the  Roman  garrison,  and  placing 
Antiochus  on  the  throne,  proclaim  their  independence 
again,  and  prepare  themselves  to  maintain  and  defend  it. 
They  make  use  of  Antiochus  because  of  his  connexion  with 
Zenobia,  and  the  influence  he  would  exert  through  that 
prejudice,  and  because  of  his  sway  over  other  families 
among  the  richest  and  most  powerful,  especially  the  two 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  405 

princes,  Herennianus  and  Timolaus,  and  because  of  his 
fool-hardiness.  If  they  should  fail,  he,  they  imagine,  will 
be  the  only  or  the  chief  sacrifice,  and  he  can  well  be  spared. 
If  they  succeed,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  afterwards  to  dis 
pose  of  him,  if  his  character  or  measures  as  their  king 
should  displease  them,  and  exalt  some  other  and  worthier 
in  his  room. 

"  And  what,  father, "  saidFausta,  "  said  you  to  Antiochus  ? " 
"  I  told  him, "  replied  Gracchus,  "  what  I  thought, —  that 
the  plan  struck  me  not  only  as  frantic  and  wild,  but  foolish ; 
that  I  for  myself  should  engage  in  no  plot  of  any  kind, 
having  in  view  any  similar  object,  much  less  in  such  a  one 
as  he  proposed.  I  told  him  that  if  Palmyra  was  destined 
ever  to  assert  its  supremacy  and  independence  of  Eome,  it 
could  not  be  for  many  years  to  come,  and  then  by  watching 
for  some  favourable  juncture  in  the  affairs  of  Eome  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  It  might  very  well  happen,  I  thought, 
that  in  the  process  of  years,  and  when  Palmyra  had  wholly 
recruited  her  strength  after  her  late  and  extreme  sufferings, 
there  might  occur  some  period  of  revolution  or  inward  com 
motion  in  the  Koman  empire,  such  as  would  leave  her  re 
mote  provinces  in  a  comparatively  unprotected  state.  Then 
would  be  the  time  for  re-asserting  our  independence ;  then 
we  might  spring  upon  our  keepers  with  some  good  prospect 
of  overpowering  them,  and  taking  again  to  ourselves  our 
own  government.  But  now,  I  tried  to  convince  him,  it  was 
utter  madness,  or  worse,  stupidity,  to  dream  of  success  in 
such  an  enterprise.  The  Eomans  were  already  inflamed  and 
angry,  not  half  appeased  by  the  bloody  offering  that  had 
just  been  made ;  their  strength  was  undiminished,  —  for 
what  could  diminish  the  strength  of  Eome,  —  and  a  rising 
could  no  sooner  take  place,  than  her  legions  would  again 
be  upon  us,  and  our  sufferings  might  be  greater  than  ever. 
I  entreated  him  to  pause,  and  to  dissuade  those  from  action 
who  were  connected  with  him.  I  did  not  hesitate  to  set 
before  him  a  lively  picture  of  his  own  hazard  in  the  affair ; 
that  he,  if  failure  ensued,  would  be  the  first  victim.  I 
urged,  moreover,  that  a  few,  as  I  held  his  number  to  be,  had 


406  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

no  right  to  endanger,  by  any  selfish  and  besotted  conduct, 
the  general  welfare,  the  lives  and  property  of  the  citizens ; 
that  not  till  he  felt  he  had  the  voice  of  the  people  with  him, 
ought  he  to  dare  to  act;  and  that  although  I  should  not 
betray  his  counsels  to  Sandarion,  I  should  ta  the  people, 
unless  I  received  from  him  ample  assurance  that  no  move 
ment  should  be  made  without  a  full  disclosure  of  the  pro 
ject  to  all  the  principal  citizens,  as  representatives  of  the 
whole  city. " 

"  And  how  took  he  all  that  ?  "  we  asked. 

"  He  was  evidently  troubled  at  the  vision  I  raised  of  his 
own  head  borne  aloft  upon  a  Eoman  pike,  and  not  a  little 
disconcerted  at  what  I  laboured  to  convince  him  were  the 
rights  of  us  all  in  the  case.  I  obtained  from  him  in  the  end 
a  solemn  promise  that  he  would  communicate  what  I  had 
said  to  his  companions,  and  that  they  would  forbear  all 
action  till  they  had  first  obtained  the  concurrence  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  city.  I  assured  him,  however,  that  in 
no  case,  and  under  no  conceivable  circumstances,  could  he 
or  any  calculate  upon  any  co-operation  of  mine.  Upon  any 
knowledge  which  I  might  obtain  of  intended  action,  I 
should  withdraw  from  the  city.  * 

"  It  is  a  sad  fate, "  said  Fausta,  "  that  having  just  escaped 
with  our  lives  and  the  bare  walls  of  our  city  and  dwellings 
from  the  Eomans,  we  are  now  to  become  the  prey  of  a  wicked 
faction  among  ourselves.  But,  can  you  trust  the  word  of 
Antiochus  that  he  will  give  you  timely  notice  if  they  go  on 
to  prosecute  the  affair  ?  Will  they  not  now  work  in  secret 
all  the  more,  and  veil  themselves  even  from  the  scrutiny  of 
citizens  ? " 

"  I  hardly  think  they  can  escape  the  watchful  eyes  that 
will  be  fixed  upon  them, "  replied  Gracchus ;  "  nor  do  I  be 
lieve  that,  however  inclined  Antiochus  might  be  to  deceive 
me,  those  who  are  of  his  party  would  agree  to  such  base 
ness.  There  are  honourable  men,  however  deluded,  in  his 
company. " 

Several  days  have  passed,  and  our  fears  are  almost  laid. 
Antiochus  and  the  princes  have  been  seen  as  usual  frequent- 


THE  FALL   OF  PALMYRA.  407 

ing  the  more  public  streets,  lounging  in  the  Portico,  or  at 
the  places  of  amusement.  And  the  evenings  have  been 
devoted  to  gaiety  and  pleasure,  —  Sandarion  himself,  and 
the  officers  of  his  legion,  being  frequent  visitors  at  the 
palace  of  Antiochus,  and  at  that  of  the  Caesars,  lately  the 
palace  of  Zenobia. 

During  this  interval  we  have  celebrated,  with  all  becom 
ing  rites,  the  marriage  of  Fausta  and  Calpurnius,  hastened 
at  the  urgency  of  Gracchus,  who,  feeling  still  very  insecure 
of  life,  and  doubtful  of  the  continued  tranquillity  of  the 
city,  wished  to  bestow  upon  Calpurnius  the  rights  of  a  hus 
band,  and  to  secure  to  Fausta  the  protection  of  one.  Grac 
chus  seems  happier  and  lighter  of  heart  since  this  has  been 
done,  — so  do  we  all.  It  was  an  occasion  of  joy,  but  as  much 
of  tears  also.  An  event  which  we  had  hoped  to  have  been 
graced  by  the  presence  of  Zenobia,  Julia,  and  Longinus, 
took  place  almost  in  solitude  and  silence.  But  of  this  1 
have  written  fully  to  Portia. 

That  which  we  have  apprehended  has  happened.  The 
blow  has  been  struck,  and  Palmyra  is  again,  in  name  at 
least,  free  and  independent. 

Early  on  the  morning  after  the  marriage  of  Fausta,  we 
were  alarmed  by  the  sounds  of  strife  and  commotion  in  the 
streets,  —  by  the  cries  of  those  who  pursued,  and  of  those 
who  fled  and  fought.  It  was  as  yet  hardly  light.  But  it 
was  not  difficult  to  know  the  cause  of  the  uproar  or  the 
parties  engaged.  We  seized  our  arms,  and  prepared  our 
selves  for  defence,  against  whatever  party,  Koman  or  Pal 
my  rene,  should  make  an  assault.  The  preparation  was, 
however,  needless,  for  the  contest  was  already  decided. 
The  whole  garrison,  with  the  brave  Sandarion  at  their 
head,  has  been  massacred,  and  the  power  of  Palmyra  is  in 
the  hands  of  Antiochus  and  his  adherents.  There  has  been 
in  truth  no  fighting,  it  has  been  the  murder  rather  of  un 
prepared  and  defenceless  men.  The  garrison  was  cut  off  in 
detail  while  upon  their  watch,  by  overwhelming  numbers. 
Sandarion  was  despatched  in  his  quarters,  and  in  his  bed, 
by  the  very  inhuman  wretches  at  whose  tables  he  had  just 


408  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

been  feasted,  from  whom  he  had  but  a  few  hours  before 
parted,  giving  and  receiving  the  signs  of  friendship.  The 
cowardly  Antiochus  it  was  who  stabbed  him  as  he  sprang 
from  his  sleep,  encumbered  and  disabled  by  his  night- 
clothes.  Not  a  Eoman  has  escaped  with  his  life. 

Antiochus  is  proclaimed  king,  and  the  streets  of  the  city 
have  resounded  with  the  shouts  of  this  deluded  people, 
crying,  *  Long  live  Antiochus !  "  He  has  been  borne  in 
tumult  to  the  great  portico  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  where, 
with  the  ceremonies  prescribed  for  the  occasion,  he  has  been 
crowned  king  of  Palmyra  and  of  the  East. 

While  these  things  were  in  progress,  —  the  new  king  en 
tering  upon  his  authority,  and  the  government  forming 
itself,  —  Gracchus  chose  and  acted  his  part. 

"  There  is  little  safety, "  he  said,  "  for  me  now,  I  fear, 
anywhere, — but  least  of  all  here.  But  were  I  secure  of  life, 
Palmyra  is  now  a  desecrated  and  polluted  place,  and  I  would 
fain  depart  from  it.  I  could  not  remain  in  it,  though  cov 
ered  with  honour,  to  see  Antiochus  in  the  seat  of  Zenobia, 
and  Critias  in  the  chair  of  Longinus.  I  must  go,  as  I 
respect  myself,  and  as  I  desire  life.  Antiochus  will  bear 
me  no  good-will ;  and  no  sooner  will  he  have  become  easy 
in  his  seat  and  secure  of  his  power,  than  he  will  begin  the 
work  for  which  his  nature  alone  fits  him,  of  cold-blooded 
revenge,  cruelty,  and  lust.  I  trust  indeed  that  his  reign 
will  end  before  that  day  shall  arrive ;  but  it  may  not,  and 
it  will  be  best  for  me  and  for  you,  my  children,  to  remove 
from  his  sight.  If  he  sees  us  not,  he  may  forget  us.  " 

We  all  gladly  assented  to  the  plan  which  he  then  pro 
posed.  It  was  to  withdraw  as  privately  as  possible  to  one 
of  his  estates  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city,  and  there 
await  the  unfolding  of  the  scenes  that  remained  yet  to  be 
enacted.  The  plan  was  at  once  carried  into  effect.  The 
estate  to  which  we  retreated  was  about  four  Eoman  miles 
from  the  walls,  situated  upon  an  eminence,  and  overlooking 
the  city  and  the  surrounding  plains.  Soon  as  the  shadows 
of  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus  had 
fallen,  we  departed  from  Palmyra,  and  within  an  hour  found 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  409 

ourselves  upon  a  spot  as  wild  and  secluded  as  if  it  had  been 
within  the  bosom  of  a  wilderness.  The  building  consists 
of  a  square  tower  of  stone,  large  and  lofty,  built  originally 
for  purposes  of  war  and  defence,  but  now  long  occupied  by 
those  who  have  pursued  the  peaceful  labours  of  husbandry. 
The  wildness  of  the  region,  the  solitariness  of  the  place,  the 
dark  and  frowning  aspect  of  the  impregnable  tower,  had 
pleased  the  fancy  of  both  Gracchus  and  Fausta,  and  it  has 
been  used  by  them  as  an  occasional  retreat  at  those  times 
when,  wearied  of  the  sound  and  sight  of  life,  they  have 
needed  perfect  repose.  A  few  slaves  are  all  that  are  re 
quired  to  constitute  a  sufficient  household. 

Here,  Curtius,  notwithstanding  the  troubled  aspect  of  the 
times,  have  we  passed  a  few  days  of  no  moderate  enjoyment. 
Had  there  been  no  other,  it  would  have  been  enough  to  sit 
and  witness  the  happiness  of  Calpurnius  and  Fausta.  But 
there  have  been  and  are  other  sources  of  satisfaction,  as  you 
will  not  doubt.  We  have  now  leisure  to  converse  at  such 
length  as  we  please  upon  a  thousand  subjects  which  in 
terest  us.  Seated  upon  the  rocks  at  nightfall,  or  upon  the 
lofty  battlements  of  the  tower,  or  at  hot  noon  reclining  be 
neath  the  shade  of  the  terebinth  or  palm,  we  have  tasted 
once  again  the  calm  delights  we  experienced  at  the  queen's 
mountain  palace.  In  this  manner  have  we  heard  from  Cal 
purnius  accounts  every  way  instructive  and  entertaining  of 
his  life  while  in  Persia ;  of  the  character  and  acts  of  Sapor ; 
of  the  condition  of  that  empire,  and  its  wide-spread  popula 
tion.  Nothing  seems  to  have  escaped  his  notice  and  in 
vestigation.  At  these  times  and  places  too,  do  I  amuse  and 
enlighten  the  circle  around  me  by  reading  such  portions  of 
your  letters  and  of  Portia's  as  relate  to  matters  generally 
interesting;  and  thus  too  do  we  discuss  the  times,  and 
speculate  upon  the  events  with  which  the  future  labours  in 
relation  to  Palmyra, 

In  the  mean  time  we  learn  that  the  city  is  given  up  to 
festivity  and  excess.  Antiochus,  himself  possessing  im 
mense  riches,  is  devoting  these,  and  whatever  the  treasury 
of  the  kingdom  places  within  his  reach,  to  the  entertain- 


410  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  0*  PALMYRA. 

ment  of  the  people  with  shows  and  games  after  the  Eoman 
fashion,  and  seems  really  to  have  deluded  the  mass  of  the 
people  so  far  as  to  have  convinced  them  that  their  ancient 
prosperity  has  returned,  and  that  he  is  the  father  of  their 
country,  a  second  Odenatus.  He  has  succeeded  in  giving 
to  his  betrayal  of  the  queen  the  character  and  merit  of  a 
patriotic  act,  at  least  with  the  creatures  who  uphold  him ; 
and  there  are  no  praises  so  false  and  gross  that  they  are  not 
heaped  upon  him,  and  imposed  upon  the  people  in  proc 
lamations  and  edicts.  The  ignorant  —  and  where  is  it  that 
they  are  not  the  greater  part  ?  —  stand  by,  wonder,  and  be 
lieve.  They  cannot  penetrate  the  wickedness  of  the  game 
that  has  been  played  before  them,  and  by  the  arts  of  the 
king  and  his  minions,  have  already  been  converted  into 
friends  and  supporters. 

The  defence  of  the  city  is  not,  we  understand,  wholly 
neglected.  But  having  before  their  eyes  some  fear  of  retri 
bution,  troops  are  again  levied  and  organized,  and  the  walls 
beginning  to  be  put  into  a  state  of  preparation.  But  this  is 
all  of  secondary  interest,  and  is  postponed  to  any  object  of 
more  immediate  and  sensual  gratification. 

But  there  are  large  numbers  of  the  late  queen's  truest 
friends  who  with  Gracchus  look  on  in  grief,  and  terror 
even,  at  the  order  of  things  that  has  arisen,  and  prophesy 
ing  with  him  a  speedy  end  to  it,  either  from  interior  and 
domestic  revolution,  or  a  return  of  the  Roman  armies,  ac 
companied  in  either  case  of  course  by  a  wide-spread  destruc 
tion,  have  with  him  also  secretly  withdrawn  from  the  city, 
and  fled  either  to  some  neighbouring  territory,  or  retreated 
to  the  fastnesses  of  the  rural  districts.  Gracchus  has  not 
ceased  to  warn  all  whom  he  knows  and  chiefly  esteems  of 
the  dangers  to  be  apprehended,  and  urge  upon  them  the 
duty  of  a  timelye  scape. 

Messengers  have  arrived  from  Antiochus  to  Gracchus, 
with  whom  they  have  held  long  and  earnest  conference,  the 
object  of  which  has  been  to  induce  him  to  return  to  the  city, 
and  resume  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  senate,  the  king  well 
knowing  that  no  act  of  his  would  so  much  strengthen  his 


THE   FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  411 

power  as  to  be  able  to  number  Gracchus  among  his  friends. 
But  Gracchus  has  not  so  much  as  wavered  in  his  purpose  to 
keep  aloof  from  Antiochus  and  all  concern  with  his  affairs. 
His  contempt  and  abhorrence  of  the  king  would  not  how 
ever,  he  says,  prevent  his  serving  his  country,  were  he  not 
persuaded  that  in  so  short  a  time  violence  of  some  sort  from 
without  or  within  would  prostrate  king  and  government  in 
the  dust. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  after  the  messengers  from  Antio 
chus  had  paid  their  visit  to  Gracchus,  that  as  we  were 
seated  upon  a  shady  rock  not  far  from  the  tower,  listening 
to  Fausta  as  she  read  to  us,  we  were  alarmed  by  the  sudden 
irruption  of  Milo  upon  our' seclusion,  breathless,  except  that 
he  could  just  exclaim,  "  The  Komans !  the  Eomans !  "  As 
soon  as  he  could  command  his  speech,  he  said  that  the 
Koman  army  could  plainly  be  discerned  from  the  higher 
points  of  the  land,  rapidly  approaching  the  city,  of  which 
we  might  satisfy  ourselves  by  ascending  the  tower. 

"  Gods !  can  it  be  possible, "  exclaimed  Gracchus,  "  that 
Aurelian  can  himself  have  returned  ?  He  must  have  been 
well  on  his  way  to  the  Hellespont  ere  the  conspiracy  broke 
•out." 

:  "  I  can  easily  believe  it, "  I  replied,  as  we  hastened  toward 
the  old  tower,  "  from  what  I  have  known  and  witnessed  of 
the  promptness  and  miraculous  celerity  of  his  movements.  " 

As  we  came  forth  upon  the  battlements  of  the  tower,  not 
a  doubt  remained  that  it  was  indeed  the  Eomans  pouring 
in  again  like  a  flood  upon  the  plains  of  the  now  devoted 
city.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach  to  the  west,  clouds  of  dust 
indicated  the  line  of  the  Eoman  march,  while  the  van  was 
already  within  a  mile  of  the  very  gates.  The  roads  leading 
to  the  capital,  in  every  direction,  seemed  covered  with 
those  who,  at  the  last  moment,  ere  the  gates  were  shut, 
had  fled  and  were  flying  to  escape  the  impending  desola 
tion.  All  bore  the  appearance  of  a  city  taken  by  surprise 
and  utterly  unprepared,  —  as  we  doubted  not  was  the  case 
from  what  we  had  observed  of  its  actual  state,  and  from  the 
suddenness  of  Aurelian 's  return  and  approach. 


412  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  Now, "  said  Fausta,  "  I  can  believe  that  the  last  days  of 
Palmyra  have  arrived.  It  is  impossible  that  Antiochus  can 
sustain  the  siege  against  what  will  now  be  the  tenfold  fury 
of  Aurelian  and  his  enraged  soldiers.  " 

A  very  few  days  will  suffice  for  its  reduction,  if  long 
before  it  be  not  again  betrayed  into  the  power  of  the 
assailants. 

We  have  watched  with  intense  curiosity  and  anxiety  the 
scene  that  has  been  performing  before  our  eyes.  We  are  not 
so  remote  but  what  we  can  see  with  considerable  distinct 
ness  whatever  takes  place,  sometimes  advancing  and  choos 
ing  our  point  of  observation  upon  some  nearer  eminence. 

After  one  day  of  preparation,  and  one  of  assault,  the  city 
has  fallen,  and  Aurelian  again  entered  in  triumph,  —  this 
time  in  the  spirit  of  revenge  and  retaliation.  It  is  evident, 
as  we  look  on  horror-struck,  that  no  quarter  is  given,  but 
that  a  general  massacre  has  been  ordered,  both  of  soldier 
and  citizen.  We  can  behold  whole  herds  of  the  defenceless 
populace  escaping  from  the  gates  or  over  the  walls,  only  to 
be  pursued,  hunted,  and  slaughtered  by  the  remorseless 
soldiers.  And  thousands  upon  thousands  have  we  seen 
driven  over  the  walls,  or  hurled  from  the  battlements  of 
the  lofty  towers  to  perish,  dashed  upon  the  rocks  below. 
Fausta  cannot  endure  these  sights  of  horror,  but  retires  and 
hides  herself  in  her  apartments. 

No  sooner  had  the  evening  of  this  fatal  day  set  in,  than 
a  new  scene  of  terrific  sublimity  opened  before  us,  as  we 
beheld  flames  beginning  to  ascend  from  every  part  of  the  city. 
They  grew  and  spread  till  they  presently  appeared  to  wrap 
all  objects  alike  in  one  vast  sheet  of  fire.  Towers,  pinnacles, 
and  domes,  after  glittering  awhile  in  the  fierce  blaze,  one 
after  another  fell  and  disappeared  in  the  general  ruin.  The 
Temple  of  the  Sun  stood  long  untouched,  shining  almost 
with  the  brightness  of  the  sun  itself,  its  polished  shafts  and 
sides  reflecting  the  surrounding  fire  with  an  intense  bril 
liancy.  We  hoped  that  it  might  escape,  and  were  certain 
that  it  would,  unless  fired  from  within,  —  as  from  its  in 
sulated  position  the  flames  from  the  neighbouring  buildings 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  413 

could  not  reach  it.  But  we  watched  not  long  ere  from  its 
western  extremity  the  fire  broke  forth,  and  warned  us  that 
that  peerless  monument  of  human  genius,  like  all  else, 
would  soon  crumble  to  the  ground.  To  our  amazement, 
however,  and  joy,  the  flames,  after  having  made  great  pro 
gress,  were  suddenly  arrested,  and  by  some  cause  extin 
guished  ;  and  the  vast  pile  stood  towering  in  the  centre  of 
the  desolation,  of  double  size,  as  it  seemed  from  the  fall  and 
disappearance  of  so  many  of  the  surrounding  structures. 

"  This, "  said  Fausta,  "  is  the  act  of  a  rash  and  passionate 
man.  Aurelian,  before  to-morrow's  sun  has  set,  will  him 
self  repent  it.  What  a  single  night  has  destroyed,  a  cen 
tury  could  not  restore.  This  blighted  and  ruined  capital, 
as  long  as  its  crumbling  remains  shall  attract  the  gaze  of 
the  traveller,  will  utter  a  blasting  malediction  upon  the 
name  and  memory  of  Aurelian.  Hereafter  he  will  be  known, 
not  as  conqueror  of  the  East,  and  the  restorer  of  the  Roman 
empire,  but  as  the  executioner  of  Longinus  and  the  ruthless 
destroyer  of  Palmyra. " 

"  I  fear  that  you  prophesy  with  too  much  truth, "  I  re 
plied.  "  Rage  and  revenge  have  ruled  the  hour,  and  have 
committed  horrors  which  no  reason  and  no  policy,  either  of 
the  present  or  of  any  age,  will  justify.  " 

"  It  is  a  result  ever  to  be  expected, "  said  Gracchus,  "  so 
long  as  mankind  will  prefer  an  ignorant,  unlettered  soldier 
as  their  ruler.  They  can  look  for  nothing  different  from 
one  whose  ideas  have  been  formed  by  the  camp  alone,  — 
whose  vulgar  mind  has  never  been  illuminated  by  study 
and  the  knowledge  of  antiquity.  Such  a  one  feels  no  rev 
erence  for  the  arts,  for  learning,  for  philosophy,  or  for  man 
as  man ;  he  knows  not  what  these  mean ;  power  is  all  he 
can  comprehend,  and  all  he  worships.  As  long  as  the  army 
furnishes  Rome  with  her  emperors,  so  long  may  she  know 
that  her  -name  will,  by  acts  like  these,  be  handed  down  to 
posterity  covered  with  the  infamy  that  belongs  to  the  pol 
ished  savage,  the  civilized  barbarian.  Come,  Fausta,  let 
us  now  in  and  hide  ourselves  from  this  sight,  too  sad  and 
sorrowful  to  gaze  upon.  n 


414  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

"  I  can  look  now,  father,  without  emotion, "  she  replied  ; 
*  a  little  sorrow  opens  all  the  fountains  of  grief,  too  much 
seals  them.  I  have  wept  till  I  can  weep  no  more.  My 
sensibility  is,  I  believe,  by  this  succession  of  calamities, 
dulled  till  it  is  dead.  " 

Aurelian,  we  learn,  long  before  the  fire  had  completed  its 
work  of  destruction,  recalled  the  orders  he  had  given,  and 
laboured  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  flames.  In  this  he 
to  a  considerable  extent  succeeded,  and  it  was  owing  to  this 
that  the  great  temple  was  saved,  and  others  among  the  most 
costly  and  beautiful  structures. 

On  the  third  day  after  the  capture  of  the  city  and  the 
massacre  of  the  inhabitants,  the  army  of  the  "  conqueror  and 
destroyer  "  withdrew  from  the  scene  of  its  glory,  and  again 
disappeared  beyond  the  desert.  I  sought  not  the  presence 
of  Aurelian  while  before  the  city ;  for  I  cared  not  to  meet 
him  drenched  in  the  blood  of  women  and  children.  But  as 
soon  as  he  and  his  legions  were  departed,  we  turned  toward 
the  city,  as  children  to  visit  the  dead  body  of  a  parent. 

No  language  which  I  can  use,  my  Curtius,  can  give  you 
any  just  conception  of  the  horrors  which  met  our  view  on 
the  way  to  the  walls,  and  in  the  city  itself.  For  more  than 
a  mile  before  we  reached  the  gates,  the  roads,  and  the  fields 
on  either  hand,  were  strewed  with  the  bodies  of  those  who, 
in  their  attempts  to  escape,  had  been  overtaken  by  the  enemy 
and  slain.  Many  a  group  of  bodies  did  we  notice,  evidently 
those  of  a  family,  the  parents  and  the  children,  who,  hop 
ing  to  reach  in  company  some  place  of  security,  had  all  — 
and  without  resistance  apparently  —  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the 
relentless  fury  of  their  pursuers.  Immediately  in  the  vi 
cinity  of  the  walls,  and  under  them,  the  earth  was  concealed 
from  the  eye-  by  the  multitudes  of  the  slain,  and  all  objects 
were  stained  with  the  one  hue  of  blood.  Upon  passing  the 
gates,  and  entering  within  those  walls  which  I  had  been 
accustomed  to  regard  as  embracing  in  their  wide  and  grace 
ful  sweep  the  most  beautiful  city  of  the  world,  my  eye  met 
naught  but  black  and  smoking  ruins,  fallen  houses  and 
temples,  the  streets  choked  with  piles  of  still  blazing  tim- 


THE   FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  415 

hers,  and  the  half-burned  bodies  of  the  dead.  As  I  pene 
trated  farther  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  to  its  better 
built  and  more  spacious  quarters,  I  found  the  destruction 
to  be  less,  —  that  the  principal  streets  were  standing,  and 
many  of  the  more  distinguished  structures.  But  every 
where,  —  in  the  streets,  upon  the  porticos  of  private  and 
public  dwellings,  upon  the  steps  and  within  the  very  walls 
of  the  temples  of  every  faith,  —  in  all  places,  the  most  sacred 
as  well  as  the  most  common,  lay  the  mangled  carcasses  of 
the  wretched  inhabitants.  None,  apparently,  had  been 
spared.  The  aged  were  there,  with  their  bald  or  silvered 
heads,  little  children  and  infants,  women,  the  young, 
the  beautiful,  the  good,  —  all  were  there,  slaughtered  in 
every  imaginable  way,  and  presenting  to  the  eye  spectacles 
of  horror  and  of  grief  enough  to  break  the  heart  and  craze 
the  brain.  For  one  could  not  but  go  back  to  the  day  and 
the  hour  when  they  died,  and  suffer  with  these  innocent  thou 
sands  a  part  of  what  they  suffered,  when,  the  gates  of  the 
city  giving  way,  the  infuriated  soldiery  poured  in,  and  with 
death  written  in  their  faces  and  clamouring  on  their  tongues, 
their  quiet  houses  were  invaded,  and,  resisting  or  unresist 
ing,  they  all  fell  together  beneath  the  murderous  knives  of 
the  savage  foe.  What  shrieks  then  rent  and  filled  the  air ; 
what  prayers  of  agony  went  up  to  the  gods  for  life  to  those 
whose  ears  on  mercy's  side  were  adders' ;  what  piercing 
supplications  that  life  might  be  taken  and  honour  spared. 
The  apartments  of  the  rich  and  the  noble  presented  the  most 
harrowing  spectacles,  where  the  inmates,  delicately  nurtured, 
and  knowing  of  danger,  evil,  and  wrong,  only  by  name  and 
report,  had  first  endured  all  that  nature  most  abhors,  and 
then  there,  where  their  souls  had  died,  were  slain  by  their 
brutal  violators  with  every  circumstance  of  most  demoniac 
cruelty.  Happy  for  those,  who,  like  Gracchus,  foresaw  the 
tempest  and  fled.  These  calamities  have  fallen  chiefly  upon 
the  adherents  of  Antiochus ;  but  among  them,  alas !  were 
some  of  the  noblest  and  most  honoured  families  of  the  capital. 
Their  bodies  now  lie  blackened  and  bloated  upon  their 
doorstones ;  their  own  halls  have  become  their  tombs. 


416  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

We  sought  together  the  house  of  Gracchus.  We  found 
it  partly  consumed,  partly  standing  and  uninjured.  The 
offices  and  one  of  the  rear  wings  were  burned  and  level 
with  the  ground,  but  there  the  flames  had  been  arrested, 
and  the  remainder,  comprising  all  the  principal  apartments, 
stands  as  it  stood  before.  The  palace  of  Zenobia  has  es 
caped  without  harm ;  its  lofty  walls  and  insulated  position 
were  its  protection.  The  Long  Portico  with  its  columns, 
monuments,  and  inscriptions,  remains  also  untouched  by 
the  flames,  and  unprofaned  by  any  violence  from  the  wanton 
soldiery.  The  fire  has  fed  upon  the  poorer  quarters  of  the 
city,  where  the  buildings  were  composed  in  greater  propor 
tion  of  wood,  and  spared  most  of  the  great  thoroughfares, 
principal  avenues,  and  squares  of  the  capital,  which,  being 
constructed  in  the  most  solid  manner  of  stone,  resisted 
effectually  all  progress  of  the  flames,  and  though  frequently 
set  on  fire  for  the  purpose  of  their  destruction,  the  fire  per 
ished  from  a  want  of  material,  or  it  consumed  but  the  single 
edifice  where  it  was  kindled. 

The  silence  of  death  and  of  ruin  rests  over  this  once  and 
but  so  lately  populous  city.  As  I  stood  upon  a  high  point 
which  overlooked  a  large  extent  of  it,  I  could  discern  no 
signs  of  life  except  here  and  there  a  detachment  of  the  Ko- 
man  guard  dragging  forth  the  bodies  of  the  slaughtered 
citizens,  and  bearing  them  to  be  burned  or  buried.  This 
whole  people  is  extinct.  In  a  single  day  these  hundred 
thousands  have  found  a  common  grave.  Not  one  remains 
to  bewail  or  bury  the  dead.  Where  are  the  anxious  crowds, 
who,  when  their  dwellings  have  been  burned,  eagerly  rush 
in  as  the  flames  have  spent  themselves,  to  sorrow  over  their 
smoking  altars,  and  pry  with  busy  search  among  the  hot 
ashes,  if  perchance  they  may  yet  rescue  some  lamented 
treasure,  or  bear  away,  at  least,  the  bones  of  a  parent  or  a 
child  buried  beneath  the  ruins  ?  They  are  not  here.  It 
is  broad  day,  and  the  sun  shines  brightly ;  but  not  a  living 
form  is  seen  lingering  about  these  desolated  streets  and 
squares.  Birds  of  prey  are  already  hovering  round,  and 
alighting,  without  apprehension  of  disturbance,  wherever 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  417 

the  banquet  invites  them  ;  and  soon  as  the  shadows  of  even 
ing  shall  fall,  the  hyena  of  the  desert  will  be  here  to  gorge 
himself  upon  what  they  have  left,  having  scented  afar  off 
upon  the  tainted  breeze  the  fumes  of  the  rich  feast  here 
spread  for  him.  These  Koman  grave-diggers  from  the 
legion  of  Bassus  are  alone  upon  the  ground  to  contend 
with  them  for  their  prize.  0  miserable  condition  of  hu 
manity  !  Why  is  it  that  to  man  have  been  given  passions 
which  he  cannot  tame,  and  which  sink  him  below  the 
brute  ?  Why  is  it  that  a  few  ambitious  are  permitted  by 
the  Great  Kuler,  in  the  selfish  pursuit  of  their  own  aggran 
dizement,  to  scatter  in  ruin,  desolation,  and  death,  whole 
kingdoms,  —  making  misery  and  destruction  the  steps  by 
which  they  mount  up  to  their  seats  of  pride!  O  gentle 
doctrine  of  Christ !  —  doctrine  of  love  and  of  peace,  when 
shall  it  be  that  I  and  all  mankind  shall  know  thy  truth, 
and  the  world  smile  with  a  new  happiness  under  thy  life- 
giving  reign ! 

Fausta,  as  she  has  wandered  with  us  through  this  wilder 
ness  of  woe,  has  uttered  scarce  a  word.  This  appalling  and 
afflicting  sight  of  her  beloved  Palmyra  —  her  pride  and  hope, 
in  whose  glory  her  very  life  was  wrapped  up  —  so  soon 
become  a  blackened  heap  of  ruins;  its  power  departed; 
its  busy  multitudes  dead,  and  their  dwellings  empty  or 
consumed,  — has  deprived  her  of  all  but  tears.  She  has 
only  wept.  The  sensibility  which  she  feared  was  dead, 
she  finds  endued  with  life  enough, — with  too, much  for 
either  her  peace  or  safety. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  in  the  neighbouring  dis 
tricts  that  the  army  of  Aurelian  was  withdrawn,  and  that 
the  troops  left  in  the  camp  and  upon  the  walls  were  no 
longer  commissioned  to  destroy,  they  who  had  succeeded 
in  effecting  their  escape,  or  who  had  early  retreated  from 
the  scene  of  danger,  began  to  venture  back.  These  were 
accompanied  by  great  numbers  of  the  country  people,  who 
now  poured  in  either  to  witness  with  their  own  eyes  the 
great  horror  of  the  times,  or  to  seek  for  the  bodies  of  chil 
dren  or  friends,  who,  dwelling  in  the  city  for  the  purposes 


418  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

of  trade  or  labour,  or  as  soldiers,  had  fallen  in  the  common 
ruin.  For  many  days  might  the  streets  and  walls  and 
ruins  be  seen  covered  with  crowds  of  men  and  women  who, 
weeping,  sought  among  the  piles  of  the  yet  unburied  and 
decaying  dead,  dear  relatives  or  friends  or  lovers,  for 
whom  they  hoped  to  perform  the  last  offices  of  unfailing 
affection ;  a  hope  that  was,  perhaps,  in  scarce  a  single  in 
stance  fulfilled.  And  how  could  any  but  those  in  whom 
love  had  swallowed  up  reason,  once  imagine  that  where 
the  dead  were  heaped  fathoms  deep,  mangled  by  every 
shocking  mode  of  death,  and  now  defaced  yet  more  by  the 
processes  of  corruption,  they  could  identify  the  forms  which 
they  last  saw  beautiful  in  all  the  bloom  of  health  ?  But 
love  is  love ;  it  feels,  but  cannot  reason. 

Cerronius  Bassus,  the  lieutenant  of  Aurelian,  has  with 
a  humane  violence  laid  hold  upon  this  curious  and  gazing 
multitude,  and  changed  them  all  into  buriers  of  the  dead 
they  came  to  seek  and  bewail.  To  save  the  country  from 
pestilence,  himself  and  his  soldiers,  he  hastens  the  neces 
sary  work  of  interment.  The  plains  are  trenched,  and  into 
them  the  bodies  of  the  citizens  are  indiscriminately  thrown. 
There  now  lie  in  narrow  space  the  multitudes  of  Palmyra. 

The  mangled  bodies  of  Antiochus,  Herennianus,  and 
Timolaus  have  been  found  among  the  slain. 

We  go  no  longer  to  the  city,  but  remain  at  our  solitary 
tower,  —  now,  however,  populous  as  the  city  itself.  We 
converse  of  the  past  and  the  future,  but  most  of  my  speedy 
departure  for  Eome. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  Gracchus  to  continue  for  a  season  yet 
in  the  quiet  retreat  where  he  now  is.  He  then  will  return 
to  the  capital,  and  become  one  of  those  to  lay  again  the 
foundations  of  another  prosperity. 

"  Nature, "  he  says,  "  has  given  to  our  city  a  position  and 
resources  which,  it  seems  to  me,  no  power  of  man  can 
deprive  her  of,  nor  prevent  their  always  creating  and  sus 
taining,  upon  this  same  spot,  a  large  population.  Circum 
stances  like  the  present  may  oppress  and  overwhelm  for 
a  time,  but  time  again  will  revive,  and  rebuild,  and  em- 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  419 

bellish.  I  will  not  for  one  sit  down  in  inactivity  or  use 
less  grief,  but  if  Aurelian  does  not  hinder,  shall  apply  the 
remainder  of  my  days  to  the  restoration  of  Palmyra.  In 
Calpurnius  and  Fausta  I  shall  look  to  find  my  lieutenants, 
prompt  to  execute  the  commissions  intrusted  to  them  by 
their  commander. " 

"  We  shall  fall  behind, "  said  Calpurnius,  "  I  warrant 
you,  in  no  quality  of  affection  or  zeal  in  the  great  task.  " 

"  Fausta, "  continued  Gracchus,  "  has  as  yet  no  heart  but 
for  the  dead  and  the  lost.  But,  Lucius,  when  you  shall 
have  been  not  long  in  Eome,  you  will  hear  that  she  lives 
then  but  among  the  living,  and  runs  before  me  and  Calpur 
nius  in  every  labour  that  promises  advantage  to  Palmyra. " 

"  It  may  be  so, "  replied  Fausta,  "  but  I  have  no  faith  that 
it  will.  We  have  witnessed  the  death  of  our  country ;  we 
have  attended  the  funeral  obsequies.  I  have  no  belief  in 
any  rising  again  from  the  dead. " 

"  Give  not  way,  my  child, "  said  Gracchus,  "  to  grief  and 
despair.  These  are  among  the  worst  enemies  of  man.  They 
are  the  true  doubters  and  deniers  of  the  gods  and  their 
providence  who  want  a  spirit  of  trust  and  hope.  Hope 
and  confidence  are  the  best  religion,  and  the  truest  worship. 
I,  who  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  the  gods,  am  there 
fore  to  be  commended  for  my  religion  more  than  many  of 
the  stanchest  defenders  of  Pagan,  Christian,  or  Jewish 
superstitions,  who  too  often,  it  seems  to  me,  feel  and  act  as 
if  the  world  were  abandoned  of  all  divine  care,  and  its 
affairs  and  events  the  sport  of  a  blind  chance.  What  is 
best  for  man  and  the  condition  of  the  world  must  be  most 
agreeable  to  the  gods,  —  to  the  Creator  and  the  possessor  of 
the  world, —  be  they  one  or  many.  Can  we  doubt  which  is 
best  for  the  remaining  inhabitants  of  Palmyra,  and  the 
provinces  around  which  are  dependent  upon  her  trade,  - 
to  leave  her  in  her  ruin  finally  and  utterly  to  perish,  or 
apply  every  energy  to  her  restoration  ?  Is  it  better  that  the 
sands  of  the  desert  should  within  a  few  years  heap  them 
selves  over  these  remaining  walls  and  dwellings,  or  that 
we  who  survive  should  cleanse,  and  repair,  and  rebuild,  in 


420  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

the  confident  hope,  before  we  in  our  turn  are  called  to  dis 
appear,  to  behold  our  beloved  city  again  thronged  with  its 
thousands  of  busy  and  laborious  inhabitants  ?  Carthage 
is  again  populous  as  in  the  days  of  Hamilcar.  You,  Fausta, 
may  live  to  see  Palmyra  what  she  was  in  the  days  of 
Zenobia. " 

"  The  gods  grant  it  may  be  so !  "  exclaimed  Fausta,  and 
a  bright  smile  at  the  vision  her  father  had  raised  up  before 
her,  illuminated  her  features.  She  looked  for  a  moment  as 
if  the  reality  had  been  suddenly  revealed  to  her,  and  had 
stood  forth  in  all  its  glory. 

"  I  do  not  despair, "  continued  Gracchus,  "  of  the  Eomans 
themselves  doing  something  toward  the  restoration  of  that 
which  they  have  wantonly  and  foolishly  destroyed. " 

"  But  they  cannot  give-life  to  the  dead ;  and  therefore  it 
is  but  little  they  can  do  a£  best, "  said  Fausta.  "  They  may 
indeed  rebuild  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  but  they  cannot  give 
us  back  the  godlike  form  of  Longinus,  and  kindle  within  it 
that  intellect  that  shed  light  over  the  world;  they  may 
raise  again  the  walls  of  the  citizen's  humble  dwelling,  but 
they  cannot  reanimate  the  bodies  of  the  slaughtered  multi 
tudes,  and  call  them  out  from  their  trenches  to  people  again 
the  silent  streets. " 

"  They  cannot,  indeed, "  rejoined  Gracchus ;  "  they  cannot 
do  everything;  they  may  not  do  anything.  But  I  think 
they  will,  and  that  the  emperor  himself,  when  reason  re 
turns,  will  himself  set  the  example.  And  from  you,  Lu 
cius,  when  once  more  in  Eome,  shall  I  look  for  substantial 
aid  in  disposing  favourably  the  mind  both  of  Aurelian  and 
the  senate." 

"  I  can  never  be  more  happily  employed, "  I  replied, 
"  than  in  serving  either  you  or  Palmyra.  You  will  have 
a  powerful  advocate  also  in  Zenobia.  " 

"  Yes, "  said  Gracchus,  "  if  her  life  be  spared,  which  must 
for  some  time  be  still  quite  uncertain.  After  gracing  the 
triumph  of  Aurelian,  she,  like  Longinus,  may  be  offered  as 
a  new  largess  to  the  still  hungering  legions. " 

"  Nay,  there,  I  think,  Gracchus,  you  do  Aurelian  hardly 


THE  FALL  OF  PALMYRA.  421 

justice.  Although  he  has  bound  himself  by  no  oath,  yet 
virtually  is  he  sworn  to  spare  Zenobia ;  and  his  least  word 
is  true  as  his  sword.  " 

Thus  have  we  passed  the  last  days  and  hours  of  my  resi 
dence  here.  I  should  in  vain  attempt,  my  Curtius,  to  tell 
you  how  strongly  I  am  bound  to  this  place,  to  this  king 
dom  and  city,  and  above  all,  to  those  who  survive  this 
destruction.  No  Palmyrene  can  lament  with  more  sin 
cerity  than  I  the  whirlwind  of  desolation  that  has  passed 
over  them,  obliterating  almost  their  place  and  name;  nor 
from  any  one  do  there  ascend  more  fervent  prayers  that 
prosperity  may  yet  return,  and  these  wide-spread  ruins 
again  rise  and  glow  in  their  ancient  beauty.  Rome  has 
by  former  acts  of  unparalleled  barbarism  covered  her  name 
with  reproach ;  but  by  none  has  she  so  drenched  it  in  guilt 
as  by  this  wanton  annihilation  —  for  so  do  I  regard  it  —  of 
one  of  the  fairest  cities  and  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  The 
day  of  Aurelian's  triumph  may  be  a  day  of  triumph  to  him, 
but  to  Eome  it  will  be  a  day  of  never-forgotten  infamy. 


I 
422  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 


LETTER  XVIIL 

FROM  LUCIUS  PISO  TO  FAUSTA. 
A  ROMAN   TRIUMPH. 

PORTIA.  —  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  AURELIAN.  —  THE  CAPTIVE  QUEEN. 
—  ZENOBIA'S  HOME  AT  TIBUR.  —  HAPPY  LOVE.  —  LIVIA  AN 
EMPRESS.  —  CONCLUSION. 

ITKUST  that  you  have  safely  received  the  letter  which, 
as  we  entered  the  Tiber,  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
place  on  board  a  vessel  bound  directly  to  Berytus.  In  that 
I  have  told  you  of  my  journey  and  voyage,  and  have  said 
many  other  things  of  more  consequence  still,  both  to  you, 
Gracchus,  and  myself. 

I  now  write  to  you  from  my  own  dwelling  upon  the 
Coelian,  where  I  have  been  these  many  days  that  have  in 
tervened  since  the  date  of  my  former  letter.  If  you  have 
waited  impatiently  to  hear  from  me  again,  I  hope  now  I  shall 
atone  for  what  may  seem  a  too  long  delay,  by  telling  you  of 
those  concerning  whom  you  wish  chiefly  to  hear  and  know, 
—  Zenobia  and  Julia. 

But  first  let  me  say  that  I  have  found  Portia  in  health, 
nnd  as  happy  as  she  could  be  after  her  bitter  disappoint 
ment  in  Calpurnius.  This  has  proved  a  misfortune,  less 
only  than  the  loss  of  our  father  himself.  That  a  Piso  should 
live,  and  be  other  than  a  Eoman ;  that  he  should  live  and 
bear  arms  against  his  country, —  this  has  been  to  her  one  of 
those  inexplicable  mysteries  in  the  providence  of  the  gods 
that  has  tasked  her  piety  to  the  utmost.  In  vain  has  she 
scrutinized  her  life  to  discover  what  fault  has  drawn  down 
upon  her  and  her  house  this  heavy  retribution.  Yet  her  grief 
is  lightened  by  what  I  have  told  her  of  the  conduct  of  Cal 
purnius  at  Antioch  and  Emesa.  At  such  times,  when  I  have 


A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH.  423 

related  the  events  of  those  great  days,  and  the  part  which 
my  brother  took,  the  pride  of  the  Eoman  has  yielded  to  that 
of  the  mother,  and  she  has  not  been  able  to  conceal  her 
satisfaction.  "  Ah, "  she  would  say,  "  my  brave  boy !  " 
"  That  was  like  him !  "  "I  warrant  Zabdas  himself  was 
not  greater !  "  "  What  might  he  not  be,  were  he  but  in 
Rome !  " 

Portia  is  never  weary  with  inquiring  into  everything 
relating  to  yourself  and  Gracchus.  My  letters,  many  and 
minute  as  they  have  been,  so  far  from  satisfying  her,  serve 
only  as  themes  for  new  and  endless  conversations,  in  which, 
as  well  as  I  am  able,  I  set  before  her  my  whole  life  while 
in  Palmyra,  and  every  event,  from  the  conversation  at  the 
table  or  in  the  porticos,  to  the  fall  of  the  city  and  the  death 
of  Longinus.  So  great  is  her  desire  to  know  all  concerning 
the  "  hero  Fausta, "  and  so  unsatisfying  is  the  all  that  I  can 
say,  that  I  shall  not  wonder  if,  after  the  ceremony  of  the 
triumph,  she  should  herself  propose  a  journey  to  Palmyra, 
to  see  you  once  more  with  her  own  eyes,  and  once  more  fold 
you  in  her  arms.  You  will  rejoice  to  be  told  that  she  be 
wails,  even  with  tears,  the  ruin  of  the  city,  and  the  cruel 
massacre  of  its  inhabitants.  She  condemns  the  emperor  in 
language  as  strong  as  you  and  I  should  use.  The  slaughter 
of  Sandarion  and  his  troops  she  will  by  no  means  allow  to 
be  a  sufficient  justification  of  the  act.  And  of  her  opinion 
are  all  the  chief  citizens  of  Eome. 

I  have  found  Curtius  and  Lucilia  also  in  health.  They 
are  at  their  villa  upon  the  Tiber.  The  first  to  greet  me 
there  were  Laco  and  Caelia.  Their  gratitude  was  affecting 
and  oppressive.  Indeed,  there  is  no  duty  so  hard  as  to  re 
ceive  with  grace  the  thanks  of  those  whom  you  have  obliged. 
Curtius  is  for  once  satisfied  that  I  have  performed  with 
fidelity  the  part  of  a  correspondent.  He  even  wonders  at 
my  diligence.  The  advantage  is,  I  believe  for  the  first 
time,  fairly  on  my  side, — though  you  can  yourself  bear 
testimony,  having  heard  all  his  epistles,  how  many  he 
wrote,  and  with  what  vividness  and  exactness  he  made 
Eome  to  pass  before  us.  I  think  he  will  not  be  prevented 


424  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

from  writing  to  you  by  anything  I  can  say.  He  drops  in 
every  day.  Lucilia  sometimes  with  him,  and  never  leaves 
us  till  he  has  exhausted  his  prepared  questions  concerning 
you  and  the  great  events  which  have  taken  place,  — there 
remaining  innumerable  points  to  a  man  of  his  exact  turn 
of  mind,  about  which  he  must  insist  upon  fuller  and  more 
careful  information.  I  think  he  will  draw  up  a  history  of 
the  war.  I  hope  he  will ;  no  ore  could  do  it  better. 

Aurelian,  you  will  have  heard,  upon  leaving  Palmyra, 
instead  of  continuing  on  the  route  which  he  set  out  toward 
Einesa  and  Antioch,  turned  aside  to  Egypt,  in  order  to  put 
down,  by  one  of  his  sudden  movements,  the  Egyptian  mer 
chant  Firmus,  who,  with  a  genius  for  war  greater  than  for 
traffic,  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  people,  and 
proclaimed  their  independence  of  Eome.  As  the  friend  and 
ally  of  Zenobia  —  although  he  could  render  her,  during  the 
siege,  no  assistance  —  I  must  pity  his  misfortunes  and  his 
end.  News  has  just  reached  us  that  his  armies  have  been 
defeated,  he  himself  taken  and  put  to  death,  and  his  new- 
made  kingdom  reduced  again  to  the  condition  of  a  Eoman 
province.  We  now  every  hour  look  to  hear  of  the  arrival 
of  the  emperor  and  his  armies. 

Although  there  has  been  observed  some  secrecy  concern 
ing  the  progress  and  places  of  residence  of  Zenobia,  yet  we 
learn  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty  that  she  is  now  at 
Brundusium,  awaiting  the  further  orders  of  Aurelian,  hav 
ing  gone  overland  from  Byzantium  to  Apollonia,  and  there 
crossing  the  Adriatic.  I  have  not  been  much  disturbed  by 
the  reports  which  have  prevailed,  because  I  thought  I  knew 
too  much  of  the  queen  to  think  them  well  grounded.  Yet 
I  confess  I  have  suffered  somewhat,  when,  upon  resorting 
to  the  Capitol  or  the  baths,  I  have  found  the  principal  topic 
to  be  the  death  of  Zenobia,  —  according  to  some,  of  grief,  on 
her  way  from  Antioch  to  Byzantium ;  or,  as  others  had  it, 
of  hunger,  she  having  resolutely  refused  all  nourishment 
I  have  given  no  credit  to  the  rumour ;  yet  as  all  stories  of 
this  kind  are  a  mixture  of  truth  and  error,  so  in  this  case  I 
can  conceive  easily  that  it  has  some  foundation  in  reality, 


A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH.  425 

and  I  am  led  to  believe  from  it  that  the  sufferings  of  the 
queen  have  been  great.  How,  indeed,  could  they  be  other 
wise  ?  A  feebler  spirit  than  Zenobia's,  and  a  feebler  frame, 
would  necessarily  have  been  destroyed.  With  what  impa 
tience  do  I  wait  the  hour  that  shall  see  her  in  Eome !  I  am 
happily  already  relieved  of  all  anxiety  as  to  her  treatment 
by  Aurelian;  no  fear  need  be  entertained  for  her  safety. 
Desirous  as  far  as  may  be  to  atone  for  the  rash  severity  of 
his  orders  in  Syria,  he  will  distinguish  with  every  possible 
mark  of  honour,  the  queen,  her  family,  and  such  other  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Palmyra  as  have  been  reserved  to  grace 
his  triumph. 

For  this  august  ceremony  the  preparations  are  already 
making.  It  is  the  sole  topic  of  conversation,  and  the  single 
object  toward  which  seem  to  be  bent  the  whole  genius  and 
industry  of  the  capital.  It  is  intended  to  surpass  in  mag 
nificence  all  that  has  been  done  by  former  emperors  or 
generals.  The  materials  for  it  are  collecting  from  every 
part  of  the  empire,  and  the  remotest  regions  of  Asia  and 
Africa.  Every  day  there  arrive  cargoes  either  of  wild 
beasts,  or  of  prisoners  destined  to  the  amphitheatre.  Illus 
trious  captives  also  from  Asia,  Germany,  and  Gaul,  among 
whom  are  Tetricus  and  his  son.  The  Tiber  is  crowded  with 
vessels  bringing  in  the  treasures  drawn  from  Palmyra,  —  her 
silver  and  gold,  her  statuary  and  works  of  art,  and  every 
object  of  curiosity  and  taste  that  was  susceptible  of  trans 
portation  across  the  desert  and  the  ocean. 

It  is  now  certain  that  the  queen  has  advanced  as  far  as 
Tusculum,  where  with  Julia,  Livia,  Faustula,  and  Yabala- 
thus,  she  will  remain  —  at  a  villa  of  Aurelian 's,  it  is  said 
—  till  the  day  of  triumph.  Separation  seems  the  more 
painful  as  they  approach  nearer.  Although  knowing  that 
they  would  be  scrupulously  prohibited  from  all  intercourse 
with  any  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  villa  itself,  I  have  not 
been  restrained  from  going  again  and  again  to  Tusculum, 
and  passing  through  it  and  around  it  in  the  hope  to  obtain 
were  it  but  a  distant  glimpse  of  persons  to  whom  I  am 
bound  more  closely  than  to  any  others  on  earth.  But  it  has 


426  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

been  all  in  vain.  I  shall  not  see  them  till  I  behold  them 
a  part  of  the  triumphal  procession  of  their  conqueror. 

Aurelian  has  arrived;  the  long-expected  day  has  come 
and  is  gone.  His  triumph  has  been  celebrated,  and  with  a 
magnificence  and  a  pomp  greater  than  the  traditionary 
glories  of  those  of  Pompey,  Trajan,  Titus,  or  even  the 
secular  games  of  Philip. 

I  have  seen  Zenobia ! 

The  sun  of  Italy  never  poured  a  flood  of  more  golden 
light  upon  the  great  capital  and  its  surrounding  plains  than 
on  the  day  of  Aurelian 's  triumph.  The  airs  of  Palmyra 
were  never  more  soft.  The  whole  city  was  early  abroad ; 
and  added  to  our  overgrown  population,  there  were  the  in 
habitants  of  all  the  neighbouring  towns  and  cities,  and 
strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  so  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  and  labour  only,  and  no  little  danger  too,  that  the 
spectacle  could  be  seen.  I  obtained  a  position  opposite  the 
Capitol,  from  which  I  could  observe  the  whole  of  this  proud 
display  of  the  power  and  greatness  of  Rome. 

A  long  train  of  elephants  opened  the  show,  their  huge 
sides  and  limbs  hung  with  cloth  of  gold  and  scarlet,  some 
having  upon  their  backs  military  towers  or  other  fanciful 
structures,  which  were  filled  with  the  natives  of  Asia  or 
Africa,  all  arrayed  in  the  richest  costumes  of  their  coun 
tries.  These  were  followed  by  wild  animals,  and  those 
remarkable  for  their  beauty,  from  every  part  of  the  world, 
either  led,  as  in  the  case  of  lions,  tigers,  leopards,  by  those 
who  from  long  management  of  them  possessed  the  same 
power  over  them  as  the  groom  over  his  horse,  or  else  drawn 
along  upon  low  platforms,  upon  which  they  were  made  to 
perform  a  thousand  antic  tricks  for  the  amusement  of  the 
gaping  and  wondering  crowds.  Then  came  not  many  fewer 
than  two  thousand  gladiators  in  pairs,  all  arranged  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  display  to  the  greatest  advantage  their  well- 
knit  joints,  and  projecting  and  swollen  muscles.  Of  these 
a  great  number  have  already  perished  on  the  arena  of  the 
Flavian,  and  in  the  sea-fights  in  Domitian's  theatre.  Next, 
upon  gilded  wagons,  and  arrayed  so  as  to  produce  the  most 


A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH.  427 

dazzling  effect,  came  the  spoils  of  the  wars  of  Aurelian,  — . 
treasures  of  art,  rich  cloths  and  embroideries,  utensils  of 
gold  and  silver,  pictures,  statues,  and  works  in  brass,  from 
the  cities  of  Gaul,  from  Asia,  and  from  Egypt.  Conspicu 
ous  here  over  all  were  the  rich  and  gorgeous  contents  of  the 
palace  of  Zenobia.  The  huge  wains  groaned  under  the 
weight  of  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  of  ivory,  and  the  most 
precious  woods  of  India.  The  jewelled  wine-cups,  vases, 
and  golden  statuary  of  Demetrius  attracted  the  gaze  and 
excited  the  admiration  of  every  beholder.  Immediately 
after  these  came  a  crowd  of  youths  richly  habited  in  the 
costumes  of  a  thousand  different  tribes,  bearing  in  their 
hands,  upon  cushions  of  silk,  crowns  of  gold  and  precious 
stones,  the  offerings  of  the  cities  and  kingdoms  of  all  the 
world,  as  it  were,  to  the  power  and  fame  of  Aurelian. 
Following  these,  came  the  ambassadors  of  all  nations, 
sumptuously  arrayed  in  the  habits  of  their  respective 
countries.  Then  an  innumerable  train  of  captives,  show 
ing  plainly,  in  their  downcast  eyes,  in  their  fixed  and  mel 
ancholy  gaze,  that  hope  had  taken  its  departure  from  their 
breasts.  Among  these  were  many  women  from  the  shores 
of  the  Danube,  taken  in  arms  fighting  for  their  country, 
of  enormous  stature,  and  clothed  in  the  warlike  costume  of 
their  tribes. 

But  why  do  I  detain  you  with  these  things,  when  it  is  of 
one  only  that  you  wish  to  hear  ?  I  cannot  tell  you  with 
what  impatience  I  waited  for  that  part  of  the  procession  to 
approach  where  were  Zenobia  and  Julia.  I  thought  its 
line  would  stretch  on  forever.  And  it  was  the  ninth  hour 
before  the  alternate  shouts  and  deep  silence  of  the  multi 
tudes  announced  that  the  conqueror  was  drawing  near  the 
Capitol.  As  the  first  shout  arose,  I  turned  toward  the 
quarter  whence  it  came,  and  beheld,  not  Aurelian  as  I  ex 
pected,  but  the  Gallic  emperor  Tetricus  —  yet  slave  of  his 
army  and  of  Victoria  —  accompanied  by  the  prince  his  son, 
and  followed  by  other  illustrious  captives  from  Gaul.  All 
eyes  were  turned  with  pity  upon  him,  and  with  indigna 
tion  too  that  Aurelian  should  thus  treat  a  Eoman,  and  once 


428  ZENOBIA,   QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

a  senator.  But  sympathy  for  him  was  instantly  lost  in  a 
stronger  feeling  of  the  same  kind  for  Zenobia,  who  came 
immediately  after.  You  can  imagine,  Fausta,  better  than 
I  can  describe  them,  my  sensations,  when  I  saw  our  be 
loved  friend  —  her  whom  I  had  seen  treated  never  otherwise 
than  as  a  sovereign  queen  and  with  all  the  imposing  pomp 
of  the  Persian  ceremonial  —  now  on  foot,  and  exposed  to  the 
rude  gaze  of  the  Roman  populace, — toiling  beneath  the  rays 
of  a  hot  sun,  and  the  weight  of  jewels  such  as,  both  for 
richness  and  beauty,  were  never  before  seen  in  Rome,  and 
of  chains  of  gold,  which  first  passing  around  her  neck  and 
arms,  were  then  borne  up  by  attendant  slaves.  I  could 
have  wept  to  see  her  so  —  yes,  and  did.  My  impulse  was 
to  break  through  the  crowd  and  support  her  almost  fainting 
form ;  but  I  well  knew  that  my  life  would  answer  for  the 
rashness  on  the  spot.  I  could  only,  therefore,  like  the  rest, 
wonder  and  gaze.  And  never  did  she  seem  to  me,  not  even 
in  the  midst  of  her  own  court,  to  blaze  forth  with  such 
transcendent  beauty,  yet  touched  with  grief.  Her  look 
was  not  that  of  dejection,  of  one  who  was  broken  and 
crushed  by  misfortune ;  there  was  no  blush  of  shame.  It 
was  rather  one  of  profound,  heartbreaking  melancholy.  Her 
full  eyes  looked  as  if  privacy  only  was  wanted  for  them  to 
overflow  with  floods  of  tears ;  but  they  fell  not.  Her  gaze 
was  fixed  on  vacancy,  or  else  cast  toward  the  ground.  She 
seemed  like  one  unobservant  of  all  around  her,  and  buried 
in  thoughts  to  which  all  else  were  strangers,  and  had  noth 
ing  in  common  with.  They  were  in  Palmyra,  and  with  her 
slaughtered  multitudes.  Yet  though  she  wept  not,  others 
did ;  and  one  could  see  all  along,  wherever  she  moved,  the 
Roman  hardness  yielding  to  pity,  and  melting  down  before 
the  all-subduing  presence  of  this  wonderful  woman.  The 
most  touching  phrases  of  compassion  fell  constantly  upon 
my  ear.  And  ever  and  anon,  as  in  the  road  there  would 
happen  some  rough  or  damp  place,  the  kind  souls  would 
throw  down  upon  it  whatever  of  their  garments  they  could 
quickest  divest  themselves  of,  that  those  feet,  little  used  to 
such  encounters,  might  receive  no  harm.  And,  as  when 


A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH.  429 

other  parts  of  the  procession  were  passing  by,  shouts  of 
triumph  and  vulgar  joy  frequently  arose  from  the  motley 
crowds,  yet  when  Zenobia  appeared,  a  deathlike  silence 
prevailed,  or  it  was  interrupted  only  by  exclamations  of 
admiration  or  pity,  or  of  indignation  at  Aurelian  for  so 
using  her.  But  this  happened  not  long;  for  when  the 
emperor's  pride  had  been  sufficiently  gratified,  and  just 
there  where  he  came  over  against  the  steps  of  the  Capitol, 
he  himself,  crowned  as  he  was  with  the  diadem  of  universal 
empire,  descended  from  his  chariot,  and  unlocking  the 
chains  of  gold  that  bound  the  limbs  of  the  queen,  led  and 
placed  her  in  her  own  chariot  —  that  chariot  in  which  she 
had  hoped  herself  to  enter  Eome  in  triumph  —  between 
Julia  and  Livia.  Upon  this,  the  air  was  rent  with  the 
grateful  acclamations  of  the  countless  multitudes.  The 
queen's  countenance  brightened  for  a  moment  as  if  with 
the  expressive  sentiment,  "  The  gods  bless  you !  "  and  was 
then  buried  in  the  folds  of  her  robe.  And  when,  after  the 
lapse  of  many  minutes,  it  was  again  raised  and  turned 
toward  the  people,  every  one  might  see  that  tears  burning 
hot  had  coursed  her  cheeks,  and  relieved  a  heart  which  else 
might  well  have  burst  with  its  restrained  emotion.  Soon 
as  the  chariot  which  held  her  had  disappeared  upon  the 
other  side  of  the  Capitol,  I  extricated  myself  from  the 
crowd,  and  returned  home.  It  was  not  till  the  shades  of 
evening  had  fallen  that  the  last  of  the  procession  had  passed 
the  front  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  emperor  reposed  within 
the  walls  of  his  palace.  The  evening  was  devoted  to  the 
shows  of  the  theatres. 

Seven  days  succeeding  this  first  day  of  the  triumph  have 
been  devoted  to  games  and  shows.  I  attended  them  not, 
but  escaping  from  the  tumult  and  confusion  of  the  city, 
passed  them  in  a  very  different  manner ;  you  will  at  once 
conjecture  where  and  with  whom.  It  was,  indeed,  as  you 
suppose,  in  the  society  of  Zenobia,  Julia,  and  Livia. 

What  the  immediate  destination  of  the  queen  was  to  be 
I  knew  not,  nor  did  any  seem  to  know  even  so  late  as  the 
day  of  the  triumph.  It  was  only  known  that  her  treatment 


430  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

was  to  be  lenient.  But,  on  the  day  after,  it  became  public 
in  the  city  that  the  emperor  had  bestowed  upon  her  his 
magnificent  villa,  not  far  from  Hadrian's,  at  Tibur,  and,  at 
the  close  of  the  first  day  of  the  triumph,  a  chariot  of  Aure 
lian 's  in  waiting  had  conveyed  her  there.  This  was  to  me 
transporting  news,  as  it  will  be  to  you. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day  I  was  at  Tibur.  Had  I  been 
a  son  or  a  brother,  the  queen  could  not  have  received  me 
with  more  emotion.  But  I  leave  it  to  you  to  imagine  the 
first  moments  of  our  interview.  When  our  greetings  were 
over,  the  first  thought,  at  least  the  first  question  of  Zenobia, 
was  concerning  you  and  Gracchus.  All  her  inquiries,  as 
well  as  those  of  Julia,  I  was  happily  able  to  answer  in  the 
most  exact  manner,  out  of  the  fulness  of  your  letter.  When 
I  had  finished  this  agreeable  duty,  the  queen  said, — 

"  Our  happiness  were  complete,  as  now  it  can  be,  could 
Fausta  and  Gracchus  be  but  added  to  our  numbers.  I  shall 
hope,  in  the  lapse  of  days  or  months,  to  entice  them  away 
for  a  season  from  their  melancholy  home.  And  yet  what 
better  can  I  offer  them  here  ?  There  they  behold  their  city 
in  ruins,  here  their  queen.  There  they  already  detect  some 
tokens  of  reviving  life ;  here  they  would  have  before  them 
but  the  picture  of  decay  and  approaching  death.  But  these 
things  I  ought  not  to  say.  Piso,  you  will  be  glad  to  learn 
the  purposes  of  Aurelian  concerning  Palmyra.  He  has  al 
ready  set  apart  large  sums  for  the  restoration  of  its  walls 
and  temples;  and  what  is  more  and  better,  he  has  made 
Gracchus  governor  of  the  city  and  province,  with  liberal 
promises  of  treasure  to  carry  into  effect  whatever  designs  he 
may  conceive  as  most  likely  to  people  again  the  silent 
streets,  and  fill  them  again  with  the  merchants  of  the  East 
and  West. " 

"  Aurelian,  I  am  persuaded, "  I  replied,  "  will  feel  upon 
him  the  weight  of  the  strongest  motives  to  do  all  that  he 
can  to  repair  the  injuries  he  has  inflicted.  Then,  too,  in 
addition  to  this,  his  nature  is  generous.  " 

a  It  is  so, "  said  Julia.  "  How  happy  if  he  had  been  less 
subject  to  his  passions!  The  proofs  of  a  generous  nature 


A  ROMAN  TRIUMPH.  431 

you  see  here,  Piso,  everywhere  around  us.  This  vast  and 
magnificent  palace,  with  its  extensive  grounds,  has  he  freely 
bestowed  upon  us ;  and  here,  as  your  eye  has  already  in 
formed  you,  has  he  caused  to  be  brought  and  arranged  every 
article  of  use  or  luxury  found  in  the  palace  at  Palmyra,  and 
capable  of  transportation. " 

"  I  could  hardly  believe, "  I  said,  "  as  I  approached  the 
great  entrance,  and  beheld  objects  so  familiar  —  still  more, 
when  I  came  within  the  walls  and  saw  around  me  all  that 
I  had  seen  in  Palmyra,  that  I  was  indeed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Rome,  and  had  not  been  by  some  strange  power  transported 
suddenly  to  Asia.  In  the  rash  violence  of  Aurelian  in 
Syria,  and  in  this  reparation,  both  here  and  there,  of  the 
evil  he  has  committed,  to  the  farthest  extent  possible,  you 
witness  a  genuine  revelation  of  his  character.  Would  that 
principle,  rather  than  passion,  were  the  governing  power  of 
his  life!" 

Although  I  have  passed  many  days  at  Tibur,  yet  have  I 
seen  but  little  of  Zenobia.  She  is  silent  and  solitary.  Her 
thoughts  are  evidently  never  with  the  present,  but  far  back 
among  the  scenes  of  her  former  life.  To  converse  is  an 
effort.  The  lines  of  grief  have  fixed  themselves  upon  her 
countenance ;  her  very  form  and  manner  are  expressive  of 
a  soul  bowed  and  subdued  by  misfortune.  Her  pride  seems 
no  longer,  as  on  the  day  of  the  triumph,  to  bear  her  up. 
It  is  Zenobia  before  me,  but  —  like  her  own  beautiful  capi 
tal —  it  is  Zenobia  in  ruins.  That  she  suffers,  too,  from 
the  reproaches  of  a  mind  now  conscious  of  its  errors,  I  can 
not  doubt.  She  blames  Aurelian ;  but  I  am  persuaded  she 
blames  with  no  less  severity  herself.  It  is,  I  doubt  not, 
the  image  of  her  desolated  country  rising  before  her,  that 
causes  her  so  often,  in  the  midst  of  discourse  with  us,  or 
when  she  has  been  sitting  long  silent,  suddenly  to  start  and 
clasp  her  hands,  and  withdraw  weeping  to  her  apartments, 
or  the  seclusion  of  the  garden. 

"  It  will  be  long,  very  long, "  Julia  has  said  to  me,  "  be 
fore  Zenobia  will  recover  from  this  grief,  —  if  indeed  she 
ever  do.  Would  that  the  principles  of  that  faith  which  we 


432  ZENOBIA,  QUEEN  OF  PALMYRA. 

have  learned  to  believe  and  prize,  were  also  hers.  Lifa 
would  then  still  place  before  her  a  great  object,  which  now 
she  wants.  The  past  absorbs  her  wholly;  the  future  is 
nothing.  She  dwells  upon  glories  that  are  departed  for 
ever,  and  is  able  to  anticipate  no  other,  or  greater,  in  this 
world,  nor  with  certainty  in  any  beyond  it.  " 

I  said,  "  But  doubtless  she  throws  herself  at  this  season 
upon  her  Jewish  faith  and  philosophy.  She  has  ever 
spoken  of  it  with  respect  at  least,  if  not  with  affection. " 

"  I  do  not, "  Julia  replied,  "  think  that  her  faith  in 
Judaism  is  of  much  avail  to  her.  She  has  found  pleasure 
in  reading  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews,  and  has  often 
expressed  warmly  her  admiration  of  the  great  principles  of 
moral  living  and  of  religious  belief  found  in  them ;  but  I 
do  not  think  that  she  has  derived  from  them  that  which  she 
conceives  to  be  the  sum  of  all  religion  and  philosophy,  — 
a  firm  belief  and  hope  of  immortality.  I  am  sure  she  has 
not.  She  has  sometimes  spoken  as  if  such  a  belief  pos 
sessed  likelihood,  but  never  as  if  she  entertained  it  in  the 
way  the  Christian  does.  " 

You  will  rejoice,  dear  Fausta,  to  learn  that  Zenobia  no 
longer  opposes  me,  but  waits  with  impatience  for  the  day 
when  I  shall  be  an  inmate  of  her  palace. 

What  think  you  is  the  news  to-day  in  Rome  ?  No  other 
and  no  less  than  this  —  which  you  may  well  suppose  has 
for  some  time  been  no  news  to  me  —  that  Livia  is  to  be 
empress!  It  has  just  been  made  public  with  authority, 
and  I  despatch  my  letter  that  you  may  be  immediately  in 
formed  of  it.  It  has  brought  another  expression  upon  the 
countenance  of  Zenobia. 

Curtius  and  Lucilia  have  this  moment  come  in  full  of 
these  tidings  and  interrupt  me ;  they,  with  Portia,  wish  to 
be  remembered  to  you  with  affection.  I  shall  soon  write 
again,  telling  you  then  especially  of  my  interviews  with 
Aurelian.  Farewell. 

THE   END. 


RETURN  CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

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RETURN  CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

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